I am thrilled to announce that Tortured Souls will be FREE on Amazon from
December 15, 2014 through December 19, 2014.
Be sure to grab your copy before it's too late!
The Orion Circle #1
Kimber Leigh Wheaton
YA Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy
June 30, 2014
Sea Dragon Press
FREE on Amazon 12/15 - 12/19/14
Sometimes
Rest in Peace isn't an option
Kacie Ramsey sees ghosts—and it's ruining her life. Her
mother left, her father blames her, and no matter how hard she tries, she can't
keep the ghosts away. Now a new power has emerged. Nightly visions of grisly
murders and a relentless predator draw her to the brink of insanity.
When the phantom appears at a party, Kacie's longtime crush,
Logan, saves her. He invites her to join the Orion Circle, a group of
supernatural hunters with chapters in schools all over the country. Through the
Circle, Kacie learns to embrace her spiritual powers, and for the first time in
her life she feels in control rather than a victim.
But the Foxblood Demon will not give up so easily. A
demented serial killer in life who trapped the souls of the thirteen children
he murdered, imprisoning them within the walls of his mansion. Now in death, he
plots his return while drawing power from the pure souls of the children. He
recognizes something in Kacie he's never seen before—a medium powerful enough
to provide a vessel for his tainted soul.
Kacie can't ignore the tortured souls of the children crying
out to her every night. With Logan at her side, she will fight the Foxblood
Demon. But can they banish this powerful phantom, or will Kacie lose not only
her body, but her eternal soul to the monster.
Excerpt
Everything
hurts. My arms are wrenched behind my back, and I’m curled up in the fetal
position on my side. When I try to move, to ease my screaming muscles, I
realize my arms are tied together. Panic surges through me as I squirm against
my bonds. Shivers race along my body from the frigid cold. A sharp pain bites
into my cheek. As I shift my head, I realize a small rock is embedded in my
cheek. My eyes open to inky darkness. Though I can hear shuffling and scraping,
I can’t see anything. My heart races and I choke back a sob.
Where am I?
Light
flares to life, burning my eyes and leaving me blind for several moments. When
I can see again, I cringe at the ghastly vision. Several spirits surround me in
vivid corporeal form. They appear as they did in death—bloody, mutilated,
bright images of a horrible tragedy. I recognize the raven-haired girl. I’ve
seen her broken body numerous times in my nightmares. She teeters on legs
shattered beyond any hope of repair were she still alive.
Two
spirits flank her, both boys around ten years old. Their forms are so solid,
they appear alive, but the grievous injuries make it clear these boys couldn’t
possibly be among the living. No one could survive such extensive injury. One
boy’s head hangs to his shoulder, only attached by a band of sinew. His blond
hair is soaked in blood where it brushes his chest. Bile rises in my throat. I
wonder if I can vomit during a vision.
My eyes
move to observe the other boy. It’s hard to tell anything about him because his
face has been destroyed. The right side is concave and his nose is missing.
Gulping down a breath of air, I hold it in, willing the overwhelming nausea
away.
It’s just a vision. I repeat
this over and over in my head until I can breathe again.
“Help
us,” the girl rasps in a voice that sounds like she’s gargling gravel. “He
won’t stop hurting us. You can save us. Please!”
“I’m so
scared,” the boy with the dangling head whispers. “He’s getting worse. What
will happen if he destroys our souls?”
“I-I
don’t—” Before I can continue, an angry voice cuts me off.
“You
left!” The accusation comes from the boy with the smashed face. His voice
echoes all around me, loud, furious. “You were here and you left! You left us
alone with the monster. How could you?”
“Where?”
I ask in a hoarse whisper, flinching at the raw pain that sears through my
throat. “Where are you?”
“Be
quiet!” the girl orders in a whisper. “He’ll hear us.”
“Who
will hear you?” I ask becoming desperate. “Where are you?”
“The
manor,” the girl replies, her head darting around in frantic movements. “He’s
coming!”
“What
manor? Who’s coming?” I ask in an urgent whisper.
“Foxbl—”
The girl disappears in a flash before she can finish.
“Kassandra
Ramsey,” a deep male voice says from the shadows. “How nice to see you here.
You can’t help them, you know. Soon you will belong to me and my reign of
terror on the mortal plane will begin.”
“Who are
you?” I shout to be heard above the sinister cackling. Someone has been
watching too many melodramatic old movie villains. “What do you want?”
“You, my
dear,” the voice says in my ear.
I jump,
trying to scramble away from the phantom’s breath against my face. With my arms
tied behind my back I don’t get far. A hoarse scream leaves my throat, but it
seems to make my tormentor laugh harder. Pain sears through my ankle, such
horrible pressure. I can feel the outline of fingers ending in what feels like
sharp claws.
“Soon,
Kassandra, soon.” The dark voice is hollow in my ears as I slip into blessed
unconsciousness.
About the Author
Kimber Leigh Wheaton is a bestselling
YA/NA author with a soft spot for sweet romance. She is married to her soul
mate, has a teenage son, and shares her home with three dogs, four cats, and
lots of dragons. No, she doesn’t live on a farm, she just loves animals. Kimber
Leigh is addicted to romance, videogames, superheroes, villains, and
chocolate—not necessarily in that order. (If she has to choose, she’ll take a
chocolate covered superhero!) She currently lives in San Antonio, TX but has
been somewhat a rolling stone in life, having resided in several different
cities and states.
Author Links:
Giveaway
Thank you very much for the free copy of Tortured Souls on Amazon. It sounds like a fantastic story. I love the paranormal genre and would like to see more books about vampires.
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of vampires? Blood-sucking villains or heart-stopping leading lady/man?
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