The Failsafe Prophecies

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The Seven Kingdoms

Copyright © 2015 by Samantha
Lucas

Cover design by Samantha
Lucas

All cover art and logo copyright ©
2014

Edited by Amy Warren Stoll

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work
may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
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Book Dedication:

I’ve never had a book come
out that I’ve been more excited about, or proud of. I know you will
all
love
this
story. I know the magic will capture your imagination, while the
romance captures your heart. We have nine more books to go after
this, so this is a commitment to a journey we’re taking together,
and I want to thank you all for having faith in me and letting this
wonderful story into your life.

I would never have gotten to this point
without the love and support day in and out of both my kids. Nearly
four years ago I had to completely reset my life, and they both
have been with me each step of the way. If not for them, I think
going back to fiction would have stayed in the dream category
indefinitely. This is entirely backwards, but they’re the ones that
have taught me that it’s okay to make the things I want a priority.
And so I did.

Going back to writing full time was a
scary proposition, one I wouldn’t have made without my kids pushing
me, but once I made the leap, it was my best friend Kevin who
helped keep my head on straight. His humor and support picked me up
at the hardest moments and helped me get to the finish line of this
first book… now he better be there for the next nine!

Lastly, I have to thank my friend and
editor, Amy, without whom this book simply would not have been
possible. This idea had to be indie, but to go indie all by
yourself is just impossible. Amy’s editing of this book was the
gift of a lifetime to me and I do hope just the beginning of the
adventure. Amy, from sitting out at Disney with me, listening to me
brainstorm, to your skilled editing, I honestly could not have done
this without you. You took my raw ideas and helped me pull a
fantastic story from them. Your comments and suggestions were so
spot on and helped make this book strong, compelling, and
wonderful. I thank you so much.

Writing a book always gives you a lot
to think about, to take stock of, and writing this one really
helped me remember just how very blessed I am and how very much I
love writing. Now here’s to the next nine, may each one be better
than the last! - Samantha

The
Seven Kingdoms

A
Tales of Elethiya
Serial

The Failsafe Prophecies ~
Season 1 Episode 1

Samantha Lucas

Copyright © 2015

Chapter One

In the space between unconscious and
awake there is only silence.

Rigo’s heartbeat echoed in that
silence. He heard the breath enter his lungs and leave. Soon there
was a strange distorted ricochet before the sound of children
laughing entered the vortex and before his vision returned to
him.

In the time it took for him to take a
breath, all his senses were back on line, the heavy scent of the
flowers, the sounds of running water and laughter. He was in a
garden, pink trees everywhere, a small lake and a concrete path
circling it. There were couples walking around the lake hand in
hand, some on cell phones, kids playing, a man sitting on a bench
working with a tablet. He recalled the sound of children laughing
that he’d heard just before re-entering time and space.

He didn’t have time to sort out the
disorientation before a loud crack split the air. In that break he
saw the first roahn-ami appear, and knew why he’d been called to
the area.

A human shaped figure, so black in
color it would suck out the light of whatever was near it. Its ears
were pointed like a cat. Its eyes, they weren’t eyes. They were two
egg shaped pockets of white light that allowed it to find its
target. They had wings and could fly, but most often, now for
instance, their wings were tucked into sleeves in their backs,
completely out of view. They could still levitate above most
humans, hanging in the air above them like death.

The sweet scent that always
accompanied them rivaled the florals. Rigo had come to hate that
scent to the point it sickened him. The roahn-ami had only one
purpose, to steal the souls of anything it could, and drag those
souls to the darkness.

He scanned the area and found the
roahn-ami’s target at the same time the demon locked on.

He had no idea what she’d
done to elicit such a powerful enemy, but it was his job to make
certain the roahn-ami did
not
succeed. She wore jeans and a yellow tee and had
her long blonde hair pulled back in a band at the base of her neck.
She was bent over a pale purple rose and completely oblivious to
her pending danger.

He began to run, only taking a few
steps before the lion buried deep within him came roaring to the
surface. Two human feet hitting the pavement turned into four paws.
He felt the power surge, the wind rushing through his long black
mane. Everything he was became fiercely primal as he charged
towards the beast and its intended prey.

He arrived at her the same time as the
roahn-ami. She stood now, staring into nothingness. She didn’t
notice his presence running towards her, nor the shape behind her.
That told him all he needed to know.

She was already in the
darkness.

Trapped between two worlds, the battle
for her soul would be won or lost by a demon and a
shifter.

The roahn-ami were incredibly agile,
feminine in their movements, and able to achieve speeds the eye
could not follow. This one used its power to pull the girl’s soul
from her body. Standing behind her, its hands directed the energy
through her body, out her back, and into one of the containers it
wore on its belt, the only article of clothing worn by the
roahn-ami.

Rigo pushed harder to reach the
girl.

Only a few more leaps of his muscles
and he’d reach her, but she was already falling limp. He roared as
he pushed himself to his breaking point to reach her, but the soul
was nearly completely gone. He felt the shiver of energy pass
through him, the shift in energy on the planet that happened
anytime a soul left or arrived.

Hayden slipped through the
vortex and tried to force herself awake faster than was happening
naturally. She sensed the danger deep within herself and knew she
needed to be awake and aware
fast
.

Her first view was of a park-like
space. Then she smelled the roahn-ami and saw Rigo’s transformation
as he charged at a woman on the far end of the lake from where she
stood. She watched as his human arms and legs became powerful
cat-like limbs, as his long blond hair became a long black mane. He
was beautiful in either form, and formidable. But as his lion, he
emitted power and magic his human-like form would never
have.

She had maybe three seconds to make a
decision and to follow suit. She viewed the scene, saw terrified
families and a group of teens, all with their camera phones
catching the action. She prayed the containment crew was already on
their way. When she saw the second target, a young woman with long
black hair, wearing a traditional Asian-styled gown, Hayden began
to run, quickly morphing into her sleek puma, the pads of her feet
hitting the concrete, grabbing, and propelling her forward at a
great speed. It dulled her claws, but only marginally. She roared a
warning to the beast as she bore down on it.

She prayed Rigo was safe
and her decision to save the other girl didn’t harm her friend and
ally. Theirs was a sacred duty, and it wasn’t to one another. There
was only one reason she would have been summoned here. These women
had to be from the Marrow, and all she knew for sure, was
she
had
to save
this one.

Rigo lunged at the creature. His
claws, tipped with magic for just this purpose, ripped into the
vaporish flesh of the dark entity, tearing at it. Most would think
the deep red that appeared against the black was blood, but these
creatures didn’t bleed. They oozed toxins, a last defense against
anything that may attack it. A human who came in contact with the
substance would be dead in thirty seconds. There would be no way to
save them.

He slashed again as the creature
wrapped its arm around the limp woman’s waist, but he only managed
to tear the soft cotton fabric of the woman’s simple shirt. She was
stunningly beautiful. Her blonde hair was so pale it was nearly
white and blended with her skin seamlessly. Her pale pink lips were
parted softly as she hung limp in the beast’s arms.

This was the kind of beauty that
seemed supernatural. He wondered for a fragment if she were an
angel, but he knew better. Angels didn’t have souls for the
roahn-ami to take.

He roared, lunging one last time,
making contact again, this time with a tendon and ankle as the
demon and the girl vanished into foul smelling vapor.

He drew a deep breath and roared in
agony for failing her.

As he turned, he saw Hayden shift into
her puma, chasing yet another of the dark winged ones across the
lake.

He shook off the failure as the
realization dawned that another woman was in danger. He moved
through the gardens, across the lawn and the paved walkway with
grace and power, quickly catching up to Hayden’s puma. As they both
reached the creature, it was as if time slowed. A distortion of
some sort surrounded them. It was like being in a dream and not
being able to control your movements. He tried to lunge for the
creature, but it was as if something held on to his ankle and
yanked him back to the ground.