Cover Art by Alison Hunt

Can’t do a bunch of teasers and leave out Lost from War of Nytefall.  This excerpt comes from Eradication, which you can get as a $2.99 eBook or a $12.00 paperback.  This specific scene really shows how much chaos Lost can cause even by accident.  One of the reasons I enjoyed writing her.  Enjoy.

The door is suddenly kicked off its hinges and sent flying through the balcony window, the pieces of glass hovering in the air. Standing in the open doorway, Lost remains frozen with her leg stretched out and her bare foot still gripping the metal handle. The vampiric half-elf’s pajamas are soaked from playing with the Eusu, so the expensive rug in the hallway has been destroyed by the trail of murky water. Her red eyes close for a moment in an attempt to pretend that she is not there, but one peek ruins the childish delusion. Gradually hopping into the room, the womb-born vampire tries to use her telekinesis to repair the damage, but ends up breaking the window again by having the door rocket through the opening. She ducks enough to let the wooden panel pass by her and embed itself in the far wall, which cracks enough to reveal the room full of gemstones on the other side. The other Dawn Fangs can only stare as Lost whistles and takes a seat on the floor as if nothing has happened.

“So, what are you four doing?” she innocently asks.

“Four? There’s only three of us,” Clyde says, snapping out of his trance. Noticing the destruction, he becomes a blur of movement that replaces the door. “Anyway, we were talking about you discovering that our enemies know about the orb. Mab, Titus, and I are going to the ruins I was buried in to search for clues. Might be useful to have a womb-born join us. You free for an adventure?”

“No, I definitely sense four in here,” Lost answers, ignoring everything else that has been said.

“Let’s stay focused,” Chastity suggests before noticing that Mab is starting to slide towards the shadows. A surprising thought pops into her mind and one sniff of the air is enough to reveal the truth. “Oh, I know what’s wrong. Lost is counting herself. She’s been doing that from time to time. Just a new quirk by my daughter who needs to learn not to cause trouble. Maybe it’s best that she stay here and you take a womb-born that won’t be as unpredictable?”

“I’m not counting myself.”

“You do it all the time, sweetie.”

“I did it once because I forgot that was my reflection.”

“Then maybe you counted bunny?”

“But bunny is still in the hallway and I was focused on the room.”

Fingers appear from the shadows in Lost and Chastity’s mouths to grip their tongues as Mab steps into the darkest corner of the room. “You get everything ready, lover, and I’ll talk to my friends here about . . . things. Need to make sure Chastity doesn’t share what she saw and I’m sure Lost has already stolen the images from her mind. Best not to let the entire kingdom know about our sex life. I think our friends and I should meet on the southern shore because I really feel the need to look out over the ocean where we can’t be disturbed. You know, perfect place to talk about private things. Nobody will be able to interfere in our conversation or hear us speak . . . or scream if things take a turn for the worse. So, see you at dinner, lover. Hugs and kisses. Hope you think about me every minute that I’m gone. Uh . . . Bye!”

“Wait,” Clyde tries to say before Mab drops through a shadow. Chastity grabs Lost by the mouth as she rushes out of the room, the slender girl kicking and struggling as they go. “Did she call me lover? Hugs and kisses? What in all of Windemere just happened?”