Anomaly (Causal Enchantment) (32 page)

Now that I was up, I
decided to check in on someone. The pool shimmered and shifted to Ratheus. I shuddered as Viggo’s cold blue eyes appeared, that vicious twinkle extinguished, replaced by a void. When I’d first shown the others what I had decided to do with Viggo—relegate him to a world without humans, a world he almost created with his own selfishness—they applauded me for my ingenuity. Looking at him now, though, his face marred with four gruesome gouges, sitting in a decrepit house with a hole-riddled ceiling and rainfall soaking through his tattered clothes, the only creature for miles, I felt only pity.

Though he undoubtedly deserved it, the human side of me—a side I hoped I would never lose—wondered if
he felt a shred of remorse.

“He hasn’t moved in weeks
.” Lilly called, reappearing after an afternoon of wandering around the jungle.

I couldn’t help but stare at her new
, more womanly physical form, clad in a fitted tank top and tiny shorts. She had asked me to age her. She wanted to experience life from an adult perspective, to share her existence. I could tell by the way she watched Caden and me that she desperately wanted to understand what having
that
felt like.

How could I not oblige and give her the chance to feel the excitement, the thrill, the love that overwhelmed me every time I looked at Caden?

A round of whistles from the guys and the sound of skin being slapped immediately after had both of us chuckling.

Lilly
shook her head. “Are they ever going to stop doing that?”

“When you get a boyfriend to beat the crap out of them, yeah.”

She tucked a strand of her jet-black hair behind her ear as she smiled, those giant blue eyes still as beautiful. “I may head back there for a while.” She nodded toward the pedestal where Earth sat.

“You getting bored of us already?” I teased. “Because Max would
love
a game of chess, you know.”

A growl
sounded from the corner. We laughed.

“No
…” Leaning over the bowl, Lilly gently picked up a world, holding it in the air. Placing it down, she picked up another one, inspecting it the same. Her eyes roamed over the divided quadrants. “You know, this could make one very interesting game board. You’d just have to make up the rules.”

The End

Acknowledgments

I began writing this series when my daughter was three months old. She is now four and I am ready to hit “publish” on the fourth and final book. This would not have been possible if not for the tremendous support from my readers. You all gave me the confidence to see this story through to the end.

A
nd a few of you have become friends along the way.

To
Mindy Herbert and Jaime Arnold—two of the first bloggers I ever met and my beta readers for this series. I don’t think either of you realize just how much your never-ending encouragement means to me, to my family, to my life. Without it, I probably wouldn’t be living my dream today.

To Heather Self—I’m not even sure
how or when we connected but somehow you’ve ended up reading my ugly drafts, picking me up from airports, (almost) holding my hand while I got my second tattoo, and introducing me to delicious food and potent liquor. I can’t quit you.

To
a fantastic and tight community of authors and bloggers—I wish I could name you all right here but I could write another book in the time it took to list everyone. Please know that every single one of you is greatly appreciated in my life.

To K.P
—You may not have started this series with me but you’re ending it with me! Thank you for tolerating my ranting “I can’t do it!” texts at least once a week for all of January, and for not giving up on me when
I
gave up on me. Plus, you made your husband read this series. That's all kinds of cool.

To Jenn Sommersby, for editing this beast and not making me cry (too much). I believe you have a super-smart alien brain trapped inside that human head of yours. You know too much. Sometimes it scares me
.

T
o Lauren Howard, Kathryn Grimes, Samantha Sideslinger, and Bella Cole—Every writer dreams of having readers like you. Thank you for being in my corner, always.

Last, but never least, to my family
—I think anyone who enjoyed this series should personally thank my daughter, Sadie. If not for that horrendous cry of hers, this series would never have been born.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born in small-town Ontario, Kathleen published her first book at the age of six with the help of her elementary school librarian and a box of crayons.
She is a voracious reader and currently resides in a quaint town outside of Toronto with her husband, two beautiful girls, and an exhausting brood of four-legged creatures.

Follow her at:

Website:
www.katuckerbooks.com

Facebook: K.A. Tucker.Author

Twitter: kathleenatucker

OTHER BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR:

Causal Enchantment Series:

Anathema

Asylum

Allegiance

Ten Tiny Breaths Series:

Ten Tiny Breaths

One Tiny Lie

Four Seconds To Lose