Stolen Dreams
Cassie
Scot
Book
4
Christine
Amsden
Genre: Urban fantasy, mystery,
romance, paranormal, new adult
Publisher: Twilight Times Books
Date of Publication: June 25,
2014 (ebook)
October 15, 2014 (paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-60619-281-8
ASIN: Coming soon
Number of pages: 260
Word Count: 84,000
Cover Artist: Ural Akyutz
Book Description:
Edward Scot and Victor Blackwood
have despised one another for nearly a quarter of a century, but now their
simmering hatred is about to erupt.
When Cassie Scot returns home
from her sojourn in Pennsylvania, she finds that her family has taken a
hostage. Desperate to end the fighting before someone dies, Cassie seeks help
from local seer Abigail Hastings, Evan Blackwood’s grandmother. But Abigail has
seen her own death, and when it comes at the hand of Cassie’s father, Victor
Blackwood kills Edward Scot.
But things may not be precisely
as they appear.
Evan persuades Cassie to help him
learn the truth, teaming them up once again in their darkest hour. New revelations
about Evan and his family make it difficult for Cassie to cling to a shield of
anger, but can Evan and Cassie stop a feud that has taken on a life of its own?
Conclusion
to the Cassie Scot series.
Excerpts:
Prologue
Evan’s
face stared back at him from a large glossy poster hanging in the front window
of the local post office. The words “Wanted Alive” were splattered across the
top in big red letters. Someone had cast an animation spell over it to make his
hooded eyes shift slightly, as if in guilt. Evan had seen all that before, but
a new addition to the bottom of the poster stopped him dead in his tracks: “One
Million Dollar Reward.”
“Crap,”
he muttered under his breath. He looked around, more than half expecting an
ambush right there on the street, but he saw nothing sinister. He reached
within himself for his magic anyway, channeling it into a shield that would
protect him from most magical attacks.
A
million dollars. This was going to bring out every crazy in the country! He had
been fighting bounty hunters for over a month, ever since the wanted posters
first went up, but then the reward had only been $100,000.
The
Scots were either getting desperate or stupid to try something like this.
Rumors already abounded regarding his bottomless reserves of magic, making him
out to be some kind of inexhaustible fountain of power. The million-dollar
reward would only confirm these lies in the minds of many; which meant that if
someone did manage to catch Evan, the Scots were unlikely to get their hands on
him. Why would a bounty hunter settle for money when he could have Evan’s magic
for himself?
Evan
turned away from the poster and was just about to continue down the street when
a black Suburban turned into the post office parking lot, cutting him off. He
waited for it to pull into a spot, his shields still up, his senses alert.
Robert
Scot, Edward Scot’s cousin, stepped out of the vehicle, threw Evan a dirty
look, then went around to the back to pull a four-year-old girl out of a car
seat. The presence of the child did not convince Evan to lower his guard,
though he truly hoped they hadn’t sunk so low as to fight when an innocent
child might get hurt.
One
million dollars. People had killed for far less, and had allowed children to
become victims. Robert Scot was a strong practitioner, on par with Edward, but
he didn’t have access to the secrets of alchemy, and he was not a rich man. He
earned a good living as a bank manager or something, but one million dollars
had to be a temptation.
The
two men did not take their eyes from one another as Robert walked into the post
office. Robert clutched the wriggling child, who clearly wanted down, to his
chest in an almost painful grip. A minute later he was past, and Evan breathed
a little easier. He walked away from the post office, heading down the sidewalk
in the direction of his Prius, parked a few stores down. He still had errands
to run, but in light of what he had learned about the reward, they didn’t seem
important.
Suddenly,
an explosion rent the air. Evan dove behind the nearby antique shop, his
shields maxed out, his senses hyper-alert. When he peeked around the corner, he
saw smoke and debris where there had once been a Suburban.
The
chubby face of the little girl filled Evan’s mind, and he felt a moment of
terror as he wondered whether or not Robert and his little girl had already
returned to the car. Practically flying from his hidden position, Evan sped
back to the post office and that mockery of a wanted poster, his eyes searching
the interior until they fell, thankfully, onto the shocked faces of Robert Scot
and his daughter huddled safely inside the building.
Robert’s
face didn’t remain shocked for long; it fell into an enraged scowl. Robert
shoved the girl into the arms of a nearby post office patron and marched
outside to confront Evan man to man.
“You
son of a bitch! My daughter could have been in there. I almost left her there
while I ran inside, but then I saw you.”
“I
didn’t do that. I ran back to make sure you were all right.” More the girl than
Robert, but still....
Robert
didn’t respond with words; instead he let loose with a torrent of raw energy
that battered Evan’s shields until he could scarcely hold them. Raw magic
wasn’t normally a useful attack strategy, but powerful emotion could turn it
into one for a short time. Another blast like that and Evan would be in
trouble, but he had no intention of letting Robert get off another shot. He
parried the attack with his own telekinetic gift, throwing Robert bodily
backward, forcefully enough that he smashed through the wanted poster and the
glass window, shattering it.
Evan
didn’t wait for Robert to get back up; he ran. He hadn’t caused the explosion,
and he had no reason to finish a fight against a man he scarcely knew, but one
whose family seemed to want to go to war with his.
The
worst part was that someone in Evan’s family probably had done it–they had been
muttering for weeks that they couldn’t just let the Scots persecute him. Evan
had begged them to give him time, but obviously time had run out.
Robert
wouldn’t care whether Evan had been personally involved or not, nor would the
rest of the Scots. And maybe they were right. Evan would find out who had done
it and set him or her straight, but the damage was already done.
The
first direct shot had been fired.
About
the Author:
Christine Amsden has been writing
fantasy and science fiction for as long as she can remember. She loves to write
and it is her dream that others will be inspired by this love and by her
stories. Speculative fiction is fun, magical, and imaginative but great
speculative fiction is about real people defining themselves through
extraordinary situations. Christine writes primarily about people and
relationships, and it is in this way that she strives to make science fiction
and fantasy meaningful for everyone.
At the age of 16, Christine was
diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease, a condition that effects the retina and
causes a loss of central vision. She is now legally blind, but has not let this
slow her down or get in the way of her dreams.
In addition to writing, Christine
teaches workshops on writing at Savvy Authors. She also does some freelance
editing work.
Christine currently lives in the
Kansas City area with her husband, Austin, who has been her biggest fan and the
key to her success. They have two beautiful children.
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ReplyDeleteI have read series from Laurel K. Hamilton and I always wanted more.
ReplyDeleteJeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series. I think it ended perfectly, with hope for the future.
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