Malevolent
A
Kendra Spark Novel
Book
Two
by S.
Peters-Davis
Genre: Supernatural,
Suspense-thriller, Romance
Publisher: BWL Publisher
Date of Publication: August 10,
2018
ASIN: B07G36D3JC
Number of pages: E-book length: 150
Number of pages: Print length: 195
Word Count: 57,500
Cover Artist: Michelle Lee
Tagline: Trafficked girls marked to lose their souls by a malevolent
supernatural entity require someone with explicit abilities for their rescue.
Will Kendra be able to save them?
Book Description:
Kendra Spark, suspense-mystery
writer and communicator with the dead, signs on to the next FBI Special Task
Force case, trafficked girls that are marked to lose their souls.
Jenna Powers, ghostified criminal
analyst, sticks close to the case as she and Kendra are also marked by the same
malevolent supernatural force.
Derek Knight, lead FBI Agent on
this case, learns of the malevolent entity and the deeper paranormal realm of
danger.
Kendra’s unfiltered feelings for
Derek struggle to take a backseat, and as the menacing threat grows more
intense, so does her passion for Derek.
Derek faces uncertainties he’s
never dealt with in his past, like malicious entities and the loss of his heart
to love. How can he protect Kendra against forces he can’t see?
As boundless supernatural danger
intertwines with the future reality of the trafficked teens, Kendra and Jenna
realize only they can shoulder the rescue by calling in a voodoo priestess…
Excerpt
1:
I expected Derek
to grab the suitcase. Instead, his arms wrapped around my waist. His spicy-wood
scent filled the air around me as he drew my body into his. I rose on my toes
to meet his gaze, and his lips gently touched mine, turning into a crush of
passion that sent sparks of pleasure to every part of me. His moan slipped
between my lips followed by the tip of his tongue. A tremor quaked downward, to
the bottom of my belly, his lips trembled as our breaths meshed.
Vanilla sweetened
the air, indicating Jenna was back. “Good grief, Sparky. You’re steaming up the
windows.”
I opened my eyes.
Jenna stood beside us. With a regretful groan and shaken with emotions, I
pressed my palms to Derek’s chest to gain some distance. A distance I should
have been compelled to follow for a working relationship. Our kiss hinted at
something greater, and I wasn’t ready to dive that deep. At least, not yet.
“Jenna thinks we’re steaming up the windows.”
Derek sighed.
“Jenna, your timing is impeccable. Or, rather it stinks.” He looked around the
room as if attempting to hone in on where she might be standing. Our
communication improved ten-fold with Derek’s knowledge and acceptance of
Jenna’s spirit still being earthbound.
I pointed. “She’s
beside you.”
He shook his head,
face flushed, as he took a deep man-breath. “I’ll get this loaded in the car
while you finish packing your carry-on.” He lifted the suitcase off the bed and
instead of allowing it to roll on its wheels, he carried it outside.
I looked at Jenna.
“We’re headed back to D.C. Two dead Hispanic girls were found on a North
Carolina beach, one washed up two weeks ago and another this morning. FBI task
force called in to investigate. They believe it’s related to the container
truck of girls found on Friday…or was that Saturday?”
“I know Merretti
has something to do with this. Let’s go
prove it.” Jenna sashayed to the bedroom window facing the roadside of the
house, where Derek loaded the suitcase. “Told you he’d get animated if you
kissed him. You two are sexy together, you know that?” Her belly laugh echoed
in the room, even after she shimmered out of sight. Hearing her after she’d
disappeared was a new ability, something to ask her about.
I shuffled through
my carry-on, discarded a few things I didn’t need and added new items I might
want. Not knowing the length of time I’d be staying in D.C. made packing a bit
difficult, plus the fact I needed to include my laptop and notebooks for novel
writing. I committed to a new series of books and the first one was due the end
of August, but the publicist wanted the cover and blurb at least a month
earlier. Not an easy feat when I hadn’t even started character sketches or
plotting.
“Is this it then?”
Derek slung the strap of the laptop storage bag over his shoulder, along with
my carry-on. “Is Jenna still here?”
“No, she’s gone.”
I looked around, thinking of anything I might have missed, but my mind kept
skittering between Derek, the new case, Jenna, and my writing commitments.
Derek’s brows drew
inward as he eyed my face. “You haven’t caught up on your sleep, have you?” He
grabbed my upper arm to lead me along.
“Not really. Have
you?” I clicked off lights and locked the lakeside door as we made our way out
the driveway entry. His fingers remained around my arm as he guided me to the
SUV, reminding me of all the times we were together in D.C. and North Carolina.
He opened the
passenger door. “I’ve slept, but probably not enough. Climb in while I set this
in the back.”
I settled in the
seat and sent a quick text off to Denise and Lexi, telling them I was leaving
and not sure when I’d be back. I asked if they would mind doing what they did
last week for me. I sent another one off to Sharon, my writing accountability
partner. I’d sent her the details of my contract with Knixton, so she had a
good idea of how pinched for time I would be if this case took too long.
Derek started the
vehicle and headed toward the main road. “We’re booked on a flight to D.C.
There may be a few other agents on the plane, not more than ten people, so you
should be able to catch a couple hours of sleep.”
Like I would get
any sleep with Derek sitting next to me. Being near him seemed more of a
challenge, deflecting his magnetic draw. I wondered if being away from him had
something to do with it like absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Halloween
Short Story:
All Hallows’ Eve Silent Night
By S. Peters-Davis
“I gotta make a
quick trip to the restroom. Can I use the flashlight?” I asked, glancing at
Rory as he tilted his head. “Oops.” We’d made a pact not to talk, experience
the night of stargazing with each other in silence.
Rory handed me the
flashlight. “Remember, no talking when you come out. Sasha?”
“Got it.” I
nodded, grabbed the flashlight, and then rushed into the dimly lit park
restroom. Rory and I had come to the Haggerset Lake Park for the last four
years to stargaze on Halloween night, ever since we’d graduated high school. We
loved our creep-night, the one night we dropped whatever we were doing and
wherever we were to come back to each other on this one night.
A rustle outside,
like something heavy falling on the ground, startled me. I hurried with my
business and ran out to check on Rory. He stood waiting for me. I slid the
light beam his way, and he smiled, pointing toward the ground.
I didn’t say a
word at the blanket and cooler strewn over the dewy grass, assuming he’d
tripped over something. We both picked up the stuff and headed down the hill
away from the tree line to the beach by the lake. The perfect place to lay for
an open view of the star-ridden sky.
We spread the
blanket and sat. I dropped the flashlight on the blanket, and then pulled the
wine and glasses from the cooler. Rory grabbed my hand so I looked at him. He
shook his head. I set the bottle next to me, thinking we’d open it later.
He stretched out
on the blanket and patted the spot next to him. The moon cast enough light to
see his shadowed face and body. I bent down, knees on the blanket, and then
flipped to my backside, sliding close to him. His hand found mine and our fingers
intertwined.
A spike of
electricity charged through me, like what always happened when Rory touched me.
I missed him during the long months we’d attended separate colleges, and this
would be our last semester apart.
His breath sucked
in as he pointed upward. A falling star streaked across the sky.
I gasped, but
remained silent as per our pact. An owl hooted in a tree on top of the hill.
Crickets set a rhythm, adding to the croaking bull frogs all around us. I
adored the sounds and smells of the night, just like Rory had admitted the
first time we’d done this.
He squeezed my
fingers, raised my hand to his warm moist lips, and kissed my palm. His tongue
slithered up and down my wrist, making me giggle. Then his lips attached to my
skin and he sucked. My whole insides melted and fluttered at the same time. I
panted, wanting more.
His body flipped
over mine, his moist lips kissing, nipping, and sucking over my neck. Every
cell in my body responded, zinging sparks spiked through my veins. His tongue
slathered my skin. My eyelids closed on automatic.
“Sasha!” Rory? His
voice came from on top of the hill.
I opened my eyes
wide and pushed against the body on top of me. He sat on top of me and covered
my mouth with his hand, his other hand held both of mine above my head. The
skin on his face shimmered and blurred. He leaned over me, close to my face. A
thin forked tongue slithered from his mouth, licking my face.
“Sasha, are you
there?” Rory shouted again from a distance.
I bucked, but to
no avail. The thing’s skin turned to scales, his eyes…glowed amber, their
pupils narrowed into slits like a snake. Fins grew along his forearms.
I fought, hard,
struggling to free a hand and bucking to throw him off. My hand came free and I
reached for the wine bottle.
Footfalls pounded
down the hill, the monster glanced up. I wrapped my fingers around the neck of
the wine bottle and swung. The monster’s head snapped sideways and his body
fell from on top of me.
Rory stood over
us. “My gods, what the hell is that thing? It attacked me and I woke up in the
middle of the woods, afraid of what that thing had done to you.” He gave me a
hand up.
A rancid odor
burst through the air and the creature’s body sizzled, like brats on a grill.
We stepped back as
it turned into bright embers and then dust. Rory pulled me into his arms as the
night breeze carried the smoky particles over the water.
“That thing looked
just like you. It licked me.” I yanked the bottom of my T-shirt up to wipe my
face and neck.
“You couldn’t tell
that thing wasn’t me?”
“It never kissed
me on the lips.” And I couldn’t help but wonder what it had planned on doing
with me. “What do you think its end game was with me?”
Rory took a knee
and extracted a small box from his shirt pocket. “Not this.” He turned so the
moonlight shone on the box and then flipped it open. A diamond sparkled. His
gaze melded into mine as he asked, “Sasha, monster-slayer of All Hallow’s Eve,
will you marry me?” He grinned, and then added, “Before some scary creature
sweeps you off your feet?”
S. Peters-Davis writes multi-genre
stories, but loves penning a good page-turning suspense-thriller, especially
when it’s a ghost story and a romance. When she’s not writing, editing, or
reading, she’s hiking, RV’ing, fishing, playing with grandchildren, or enjoying
time with her favorite muse (her husband) in Southwest Michigan.
She also writes YA paranormal,
supernatural novels as DK Davis.
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