Free books & the latest Half Dead chapter!

Hey there!

Chapter 14 of Half Dead, written with Leia Stone, is here! Scroll down to check it out.

Onto the prezzies! I've mentioned before that the response to Trial by Fae has blown me away. CN Crawford, one of my book besties, feels the same about her new release, Dark King (check out the amazing cover below!).

We're both so grateful to you guys--our freaking amazing readers--for supporting those books. So we wanted to give away some other free books as a thank you--ones that you might not have read yet.

So, if you haven't read CN Crawford's awesome Fae FBI book Agent of Enchantmentthat is free until August 26. So are Gods of Magic and Braving Fate from my collections. Gods of Magic is part of the Dragon's Gift world and Braving Fate is a much spicier paranormal romance. I'm hoping that at least one of these is new to everyone :-)

Also, book 2 in The Dark Fae series, Heir of the Fae, is now here! Book 3 will be here on September 6th :-)

Happy Reading!

Linsey

Three Free Books!

Half Dead by Leia Stone & Linsey Hall

If you are missing chapters, click here.

Warning - Unedited

Chapter Fourteen

In the middle of the Blood Moon bar, as vamps and werewolves raged around us, two Soul Suckers pinned me to the ground and sucked the life from me. Weakness stole my strength.

I’d been so close.

I’d almost gotten the resurrection skull from Silas.

Instead, he stood and watched as his goons killed me for good. Bastard.

I turned my head. Asher was still fighting his way toward me, but he was too far off and there were too many. Nimsy was closer. He sprinted through the crowd, fear on his face and his eyes pinned on me.

“Go back!” I tried to cry. I didn’t want him dying too.

But then, he was my familiar. If I died, he died. Grief exploded within me as my consciousness began to fade.

Nim leapt onto the Soul Sucker that was closest to him. The creature’s magic blasted him back, a shockwave of power shooting outward. Nim flew through the air and slammed to the ground with a thud. It was a hard fall, I expected him to stay down but he leapt up, charging forward.

Through the cold and darkness that stole into my head, I could barely see what was happening.

But I could feel Nim and his distress. It was the weirdest thing.

He yowled, rage and fear in the sound.

Then power.

I could feel power coming off my cat.

What the?

Nimsy was so freaked out that he was… I don’t know what he was. I could feel the magic start to grow within him, like we were connected.

Nimsy had magic…

Holy shit. Nimsy had a lot of magic.

Through bleary eyes, I spotted Nim begin to glow. A white light surrounded him like a halo.

He charged the Soul Suckers, glowing like a beacon and slammed into them. The white magic exploding out of him. Whatever he’d done threw the Soul Suckers off me, and they sailed across the room.

I gasped, staggering upright as the cold pain left my body.

Nim turned to Silas then, who had managed to stand so that he could watch the Soul Suckers take me out. Nimsy charged him, still glowing, and slammed his head right into the vampires balls. The white magic exploded out of him again, and Silas gave a high, keening cry.

I staggered to my feet and stumbled toward them.

Nim leapt off Silas, who had fallen to the ground, clutching himself. He lifted a leg and a thin rivulet of urine trickled down Silas’s arm.

I lunged for the black briefcase that lay at Silas feet.

“You bitch!” Silas hissed from his place incapacitated on the ground.

“Back at you.” I wrapped my fingers around the briefcase handle and looked at Nim. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

We turned then and ran out of the VIP section. At the left side of the club, the Soul Suckers were rising. They’d be on me any second.

“That’s mine!” Silas shrieked from behind me.

I ignored him. Every inch of me ached as I pushed my way through the crowd, fighting to get out, the Soul Suckers may not have killed me but they’d injured me somehow. Asher appeared at my side then, a streak of tattoos and dark hair.

“I’ve got you.” He wrapped an arm around my waist, scooped up Nimsy, and bulldozed us a path through the crowd. My legs were so weak, I was grateful for the help.

We were nearly to the door when I felt it.

The cold of the Soul Suckers. Peering back over my shoulder, I saw them only feet away.

“Asher!”

He spun, as if reading my mind, and threw out his hand.

A massive blast of green magic shot into the monsters, smacking them square in the chest. The monsters slammed backward, flying all the way across the bar. Asher’s magic was so powerful that the entire building vibrated, walls shook, the ground flexed. Vamps and wolves stumbled.

I looked at my new boss with respect. Holy fucking power. He’d been holding out before.

“They’ll get up again.” Asher grabbed me and pulled.

As we sprinted away from Blood Moon, chaos raged as the wolves and vamps fought it out. Silas’ Soul Suckers would be coming after us any minute, we need to get far away from here.

I gripped the stolen briefcase like my life depended on it. Which it did. Literally.

“I have a car this way.” Asher led me down a side street, away from where he’d stashed his motorcycle. “We’re almost out of time. The reaper will be here any minute.”

Chilled to the bone, I swallowed hard.

A sleek black car pulled up and we climbed in. Asher tossed Nim on the seat and slammed the door closed behind us. “Go!”

The driver peeled away, tires squealing. I’d never seen the guy before, but I had a feeling there was a lot more to Asher than I realized. He apparently had a whole staff.

I lay against the seat, panting. “Holy crap, we barely made it out of there.”

“We’re not done yet. The reaper is going to show up any minute.” He pulled his cell out of his pocket and dialed. “Yeah, bring the body to Haven’s Cove Cemetery. Now.”

He hung up and I looked at him. “You had this all planned out?”

“Duh.” He looked at me. “I’m good at what I do.”

“And you don’t want me to die.”

He gave me a long look. “It seems not.”

Something bloomed in my chest and I couldn’t tell if it was anxiety or something else.

The city flashed by as the driver headed toward the cemetery. Every second felt like a lifetime. I looked at Nim. “So, you have magic?”

What the hell was that shit back there?

“Pretty bad ass huh?” He preened, looking pleased with himself.

“Yeah. You saved my ass.”

And I peed on Silas.” He tipped his chin higher.

“I’m not sure which I like more.” I grinned at him and scratched his head.

“You should definitely call me Beast now.”

I laughed. “Yeah, I’ll try to remember. I can’t believe we pulled that off.” Anticipation surged through me at the idea. “I’m coming back to life. For good.”

“Ah, about that,” Asher said. “There was one little thing I didn’t mention.”

“I don’t like the sound of that.” I raised one eyebrow at the Necromancer.

“It’s not the worst thing in the world.

“But it’s bad?”

Great. As if I could handle anymore shit right now.

“It’s just a…technicality.” He met my eyes. “Because you’re fae, you’ll only be able to inhabit the new human body for a short time. I can chain your soul to it using magic, but when the time is up, it’s up.”

My jaw dropped. “Then what happens?”

“It boots you out. Like a rejected liver.”

“I’m a rejected liver?” I grimaced.

“I can put you in a new body at that point, but you’ll have to switch every six months or so. Depends on how the new body likes it.”

“Shit.”

New body every six months? That wasn’t really living.

“Take it or leave it.” He shrugged.

“Take it, obviously. But it still sucks.”

“Being dead sucks.”

“Don’t I know it.”

“Can she go in a cat body?” Nim looked at me. “Trust me, you’d love it. You can pee on everything.”

He had a one track mind.

“Um, I’ll stick to human, thanks.”

Gross.

“Suit yourself.”

Finally, the car pulled up to the cemetery. The driver turned and looked at us. “We’re here, boss.”

“Thanks, Kyle.” Asher climbed out, and I followed, gripping the briefcase like the gold it was.

Boss? How many employees did Asher have?

Nim followed, trotting alongside as we headed to the huge iron gates of the cemetery. The whole thing was surrounded by a massive stone wall, and Asher had to use a bit of green magic to blast through the lock that kept the ornate gates closed.

“Not going to use your lock picks?” I asked.

“We’re running out of time.”

They squeaked as he pushed them open, and I followed him into the creepiest cemetery I’d ever seen. Ancient graves dotted the uneven ground, with massive oaks towering overhead. Dawn would be here soon, and mist crawled over the grass like we we’d stepped into a horror movie.

“How the hell is this my life?” I muttered.

“You got yourself into it, babe.”

Babe. I kind of liked hearing that come from his lips even though it was in the catty way and not the endearing one.

“True. I do know how to have an adventure.” That was a positive spin on this shit show. “Will your guy be here soon with the body?” I added.

The clock was ticking down.

“Soon. Let’s get set up.” Asher led us through the creepy cemetery to a spot in the back, near the woods.

The wind whistled through the trees as we stopped in front of a long sarcophagus. The huge stone casket had once been decorated with ornate carvings, but they’d worn off in the weather.

“Put the briefcase on top,” Asher said.

I did as he commanded, then went for the lock. Magic fizzed against my fingertip as I touched it, burning. I yanked my hand back blowing on my fingers. “Shit.”

When I looked at my hand I noticed that Asher’s spell was wearing off. I could see through my fingers.

“Let me.” Asher leaned close, then cursed. “Damn. This will take a minute.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Magic lock. If we open it wrong, it will create an impenetrable force field around the object inside.”

“Shit. We don’t want that.”

“No kidding. Especially since the definition of “open it wrong” is probably anyone who isn’t Silas.”

“What are we going to do?” Panic flared in my chest. “The reaper is coming.”

“Chill. I can buy us a little time with him. And don’t worry, I’ve got this.” He pulled out his lock picking tools and got to work. The tiny little metal picks glowed with his green magic, and it was clear that Asher was a guy who was good with his hands.

I couldn’t believe that I was thinking about that at a time like this.

“Necromancy is the magic of life and death,” Asher explained as he worked. “And I’m trying to use that to mimic Silas’s life force. Maybe I can trick this lock.”

“I freaking hope so.”

Finally, the lock popped open and I grinned. “Yes!”

“Voila!” Asher lifted the lid of the briefcase.

Anticipation surged through me.

This was it, my way back to life.

As my gaze landed on the contents of the case, shock flashed through me.

The skull wasn’t there.

“What the hell!” I shrieked.

A glowing crystal sat nestled in the velvet lining of the briefcase. Magic pulsed from it, so powerful that it made me shiver. But dread opened a hole in my chest as tears pricked my eyes. “Where’s the skull?”

 Asher looked at me with compassion in his normally stoic expression. “You go the wrong case.”

“No. No I didn’t.” I shook my head vigorously as if that would make it true.

“You did.”

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I fucked up! In my blind hurry to get away from the Soul Suckers, I’d assumed the case at Silas’ feet was the skull.

Wildly, I looked at Asher. “They must not have made the trade! I lost sight of them in the fight and the fae must not have finished the trade. There was only one briefcase in there. I know it.”

Asher groaned. “The fae probably bailed. They’re not keen on violence and they wouldn’t have stayed to get in a mess between the vamps and wolves.”

I buried my head in my hands. “And this dumb thing is whatever Silas was going to give them in exchange.”

Asher leaned over the case and inspected the crystal, his eyes widened. “Holy mother of magic.” Awe echoed in his voice. “It’s a time-bending crystal.”

My head popped up. “What?”

“No wonder the fae were willing to give up their resurrection skull. This crystal can turn back time.”

My mind raced. “How the hell does Silas have a crystal that can turn back time?”

Vampires couldn’t use that shit.

Asher shrugged. “I don’t know but it’s worth billions on the black market.”

“Can I use it to go back in time and stop myself from being killed?”

He shook his head. “Unfortunately, it can’t undo death. There are a lot of other rules associated with it too but it’s still priceless.”

“Damn it.” Cold fear raced over me. The reaper would be here any minute, and we had no way to turn me human.

“Hello, Cleo.” The reaper’s cold voice sounded from behind me.

It was as if he’d heard me thinking about him and appeared.

Cold hard dread spread throughout my body.

No!

I wasn’t ready to go yet.

Nim wasn’t ready to go.

Since he was my familiar, he’d die with me and I couldn’t stand that.

“Can you buy me time?” my voice shook as I turned to Asher, completely ignoring the reaper.

“Not this much time.” Fear echoed in his voice as he stared at the time bending crystal. “We don’t even have the skull.”

Terror and instinct drove me forward. The crystal called to me in some weird way. It smelled fae and my hands ached to touch it. I reached for it then, nothing to lose, and yanked it out of its case with my semi-ghosty hand. It glowed warmly against my palm, feeling almost natural in my hand. The magic inside it connected to the magic in me, sending a warm pulses through my entire body as my hand began to vibrate.

Asher gasped and I spun around, spotting the reaper. He was looming only ten feet away. His ragged black cloak whipped in the wind and I completely freaking out. Spurred on solely by my survival instinct, I hurled the crystal at his feet.

It slammed to the ground but didn’t break. Instead, magic exploded up from it, a white glittering cloud that plumed around the reaper, freezing him solid.

“What the hell did you do?” demanded Asher.

“I don’t know!” Panic raced through me as I stared at the reaper, who was still frozen, gaping at us. “I think I stopped time around him.”

“Do you know how to undo it?” Asher sounded shocked and intrigued at the same time.

“I don’t know! Maybe. I’m not even sure how I did that.” I pointed at the reaper. “It just happened. Instinct.”

“Well, what’s your grand plan now?” Asher asked.

“Um… come back to life and beg the reaper not to murder me?”

“Not sure that’s gonna work.” He looked at the frozen reaper.

“Do you have a better plan?”

“Not really.” He shrugged.

“Well, are you still going to help me?” I did my best puppy dog eyes.

He looked between the reaper and me, something dancing behind his eyes. “Yeah. I guess I am.” He didn’t seem happy about that.

“Okay. Thanks.” I stared at the reaper, horrified. “Because I’m going to need a better plan.”

“Babe, you’re going to need a whole lot more than that.”

 

***Leia will send out chapter 15 next week, so be sure you're on her mailing list! Click here.

Linsey Hall

 

www.LinseyHall.com

https://www.facebook.com/LinseyHallAuthor/

 

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