Approaching Storm Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Connect with me Online

  About the Author

  Other Series by A.L. Kessler

  Recipes: Green Tea, Raspberry, Lemon

  Suggested by Jennifer Fleming

  Lavender

  Suggested by: Charelene

  Approaching Storm

  Normalcy Book One

  A.L. Kessler

  Copyright © A.L. Kessler 2018

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without expressed permission from the author.

  Blood & Ink Press thanks you for reading indie.

  To Tori, Thank you for the night of Pokemon hunting that led to this novel and series.

  Acknowledgements

  Thank you to everyone who made this book possible. To Tori who inspired it and Ashlee who introduced me to the tiny town of Spring City, UT where my characters just felt at home in. To Jasmyn for editing and to my betas who helped make sure everything fell into place. And to my husband, who, as always, kept me supplied with coffee.

  Chapter One

  Pain tore through my back, slicing through my soul as I felt something ripped from my very being. I cried out as chains held me in place, the cold metal biting into my wrists and legs. My body jerked as more pain crashed through me. Sticky blood dripped over my back, causing my skin to become a tacky mess. I couldn't breathe, my next scream was stuck in my throat, suffocating me.

  Darkness started to eat at my vision, taking what little of my surroundings I could see.

  "Amaya," a male voice yelled, and the name sounded almost foreign to me.

  "Keep him back." Another male voice, this one much more demanding, much more cold-hearted.

  "Amaya…"

  I woke with a jump, sweat beading down my face, and my heart threatening to pound through my chest. It was the same dream every full moon. Every month the same voice called to me in fear. But I didn't answer to Amaya anymore. May. I answered to May now, because I couldn't remember who Amaya was. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and took a deep breath. Something had to have woken me, other than the fear the dream always left coursing through my veins. The soft chorus of cows and geese was usual even for this time of night, but not the blood-curdling screams of a human. All I could think while lying in bed was, 'God damn it, who fucked up this time?'

  The screams continued to come through the lifted window of the farmhouse I had occupied since waking up in Normalcy, Utah. It became my home and I just never left. Another scream and I knew I was going to have to get out of bed. I threw the covers off and swung my legs over the edge. My feet hit the cold wood floors, and I hesitated for just a moment. Couldn't someone else keep the locals in line so that I could sleep through the night?

  A cackle floated through the air, and I had my answer. No one else was going to corral the locals. I hadn't even bothered with pajamas because I had just gotten in at midnight and knew something else was going to wake me up, because that's how life worked here in Normalcy. I'd fall asleep, and something would go wrong.

  I grabbed my gun off the antique dresser and put it in the holster on my belt. Hopefully, I wouldn't need it, but most of the time, I did. The supernatural locals could get a bit rowdy, especially if there were a stranger in town. And that happened a lot in a small town like this.

  I ran down the stairs and to the front door. I flipped the deadbolt and threw open the door. Shooting out, I turned back and hit the electronic lock button to lock the door, and I felt the magic click into place. Paying a witch for it was well worth it. I jogged toward the screams and stopped in front of the old historic church.

  A man had his arms wrapped around a woman and his lips pressed against her neck. The moon glinted off his red eyes confirming what I already knew. Vampire.

  The blond hair that stuck up in every direction told me which vampire it was. "Oh come on Joseph, let the woman go." I crossed my arms. "You know better than to feed off the tourists."

  He pulled away from her and spun her around. He looked at me. "Do I have to?"

  "Yes, wipe her memory and put her back where she belongs, you know the rules. If you don't want to deal with the deputy when he gets back, leave the tourists alone." I motioned to her. "And seriously, no more."

  He rolled his eyes and looked at the woman. A moment later she fainted, and he caught her. "You know, May, something scarier than you is coming."

  It wasn't like Joseph to make threats. "I've never claimed to be scary."

  "You're right, what about stronger than you? You've never told us what you are, but we can all sense the power in you, but there's something else coming. A storm on the horizon."

  "Thanks for the warning, now go and leave the tourists alone. K? Use one of the donors around here."

  He quirked an eyebrow at me. "Is that an offer?"

  "Nope." I suppressed a shiver threatening to climb my skin. "I'm off limits, and you know that."

  "Afraid I'll find out your secret?"

  That was pretty much impossible since I didn't even know what my secrets were. "Good night, Joseph."

  "Good night, May." There was a slight mocking in his voice as the wind seemed to wrap around him and he disappeared, leaving me standing alone on the street.

  The streetlights dotted the sidewalks, leaving halos of illumination on the concrete and asphalt below. It gave the tiny city an eerie glow that would disappear at sunrise. An old-fashioned soda shop stood to my left, the brick building leaving sharp shadows across the alleyway next to it.

  I swore something moved in the darkness, but I pushed it off. It was just the remaining fear from the dream. A dull ache settled in my shoulders as phantom pain tried to climb through me. I looked up at the full moon, werewolves howled in the distance, and I smiled knowing the local pack was guarding the city because that's how it worked. This tiny town in the middle of nowhere was their home.

  I turned to head back to my house and stopped when lightning suddenly crackled above me. Nothing to worry about. Clouds rolled in as Joseph's words echoed in my head.

  The vampire was just playing with me. It always rained this time of year. It might not even be an actual storm, just some lightning passing through. A crack of thunder drowned out the wolves.

  Or maybe not. I ran to the house and made it through the doors just as the sky opened up and the rain came down. The drop in temperature was almost immediate. I shivered and closed the door and sat at my long wooden kitchen table.

  I placed my head on the wood and sighed. Joseph's words were eating at me, and the dream was still at the forefront of my brain. If I could get some sleep then maybe, just maybe, tomorrow might look a little bit better.

  The lightning cracked again, and I cringed. Maybe not.

  The sun hit me through my bedroom window. Smack, right over the face. It warmed my skin and wrapped me in its glow. I wanted to bask in it forever. But sadly I had to get up and get to the soda shop. I pulled myself up and cursed promising to work the shop today.

  I went to the bathroom and turned the shower on to let the water warm up while I got ready. I stepped into the shower and let the hot water wash over me. I tried t
o shake the phantom pains in my back away, but I knew they'd last, almost as if they were a punishment.

  Stepping out, I wrapped a towel around my dripping body and tucked the ends in front to keep the fabric up. I knew my crow tattoo on my shoulder blade peeked over the towel, sitting right next to the top of my scar. The slick pink mark went from my shoulder blade to my lower back and had a twin scar on the other side of my back. Mirrored marks.

  All I knew was that they were from that night. The night I swore Amaya died and I became May instead.

  I ruffled my long black hair with my hand, letting the locks settle around my face. I blinked dark brown eyes in the mirror and sighed. I looked harmless, standing there in nothing but a towel. The most dangerous thing about me though was that people trusted me when I didn't know who I really was.

  Every morning after the dream, it bothered me. Why would a city full of strangers embrace me, especially supernatural strangers?

  I ran my hands over my eyes and got dressed. If I was late to the soda shop, Teal would have my ass. That little sprite wasn't scared of me and wouldn't hesitate to tell the owner that I wasn't there to open up the shop on time.

  I threw on a pair of jeans and a gray t-shirt, then my boots. Luckily the soda shop was just a block or two away. I sprinted out the door, locking it as I left. I got to the shop just in time to see Teal pull up in her car with a smile on her face.

  Her wavy blond hair seemed to have a hint of blue to it when the sun caught it. She waved to me as she pulled her laptop bag out of the car.

  "Running late today, May?" Her blue eyes seemed to shift hues, like the waves of the ocean. Giving just a hint of what she was.

  "It was a long night last night." I pulled out my keys to the shop and unlocked the door. I flipped on the lights and turned over the wooden open sign in the window.

  Teal grabbed the standalone chalkboard and put it out front with a chuckle. "Wolves get out of hand?"

  "No, Joseph needed a snack." I wasn't going to mention the nightmare. "Then we had a wicked storm."

  She put a finger to her chin in a thoughtful matter. "We always get a quick storm on the night of the full moon. Interesting isn't it?"

  I ignored her musings while I got the shop officially ready to open. I got the till from the safe and put it in the register while Teal sat in her usual corner with her laptop out.

  "What's on the schedule today?" I asked her as I found the ice cream scoops and put them near the freezer display.

  Her lips turned up in a smirk. "How to know you're dating a creature of the night."

  I chuckled. "You just like taunting humans, don't you?"

  "It's fun, I get to write about the truth, and they all think it's just silliness." She grinned. She'd been writing the humorous articles for the last five years I've lived here.

  I laid out the plastic menus on the counter and then moved to sit on one of the stools in front. It was too early for the tourists to be coming through and the ones who stayed the night were probably already back on the road.

  The humans never stayed long, the charm of a tiny town only lasted so long.

  A gust of wind swept over the street, taking the sign with it. I cried out and ran to rescue it. I shot out the door and grabbed it by the handle halfway across the road.

  Hauling it back, I cursed the odd weather and came back into the store with the sign. "Guess I'll put it out later."

  Teal nodded. "What else is alluring about a vampire?"

  I raised a brow. "I don't know, I've never dated one. Ask Joseph tonight."

  "Joseph isn't alluring, he's annoying."

  I snorted. "He fed from a tourist last night."

  "Did he really? Did you shoot him?" Teal folded her hands and laid her chin on them. "Please do tell."

  I shook my head. "I didn't shoot him. He erased her memory and put her back wherever he found her."

  "Should have shot him. We need some excitement in this town."

  I rolled my eyes. "Sorry to disappoint you."

  The bell on the door chimed, and I turned to see a woman with a white cane in one hand walk through the door. Her short brown hair was styled neatly, and her sunglasses were perched on her nose and her ever faithful seeing-eye dog was at her side. Her other hand held tight to the harness as the golden-haired animal led her to Teal's table.

  "Morning Delphi," Teal said easily. "Bring us any news this morning?"

  Delphi nodded and pulled a notebook out of her bag. She waved her hand over it and ink start to appear in black swirls and take shape under her fingers on the paper.

  "A storm is coming," she whispered. "Dangerous winds will blow in."

  Her warning reminded me of Joseph, but I figured he was talking about a literal storm. With Delphi, you never knew if she was talking literally or not.

  "Is that it?"

  She held up her drawing pad. It held a detailed portrait of a man, his black eyes bore into me. Lines creased his face, running into a scar on his cheek and over his eye. My hands twitched at the scar as if they remembered something that I didn't. My breath caught in my throat at the hair that curled around his face, just below his ears.

  I knew him. A faded memory that told me I needed to run. The panic bubbled up in me. I spread my hands on the counter and took a deep breath, counting to ten in my head.

  "May?" Teal asked.

  "I'm okay." I met her gaze and saw the worry creases around her eyes. "Sorry, something about the seer's drawing triggered me."

  Delphi snorted. "As it should, it has to do with you. I can't tell exactly what, but be cautious of strangers."

  Not that we got a lot of strangers around here, just the occasional tourist. "I'm always cautious."

  Delphi made a noise that I couldn't decipher. Her dog lifted her head and gave a small whimper as the door to the shop opened, no one stood there, but a gust of wind seemed to blow through.

  I shivered as it wrapped around me as if it was seeking me out. The cold air turned warm around me and then disappeared. I looked up at Teal who quirked a brow.

  "Well, that's not something you see every day."

  "I don't see anything every day," Delphi quipped and ran a hand over her dog's head.

  I rolled my eyes. "What?"

  Teal motioned to me. "I swear that breeze had a face to it."

  I hadn't seen it, but then again, I wasn't a sprite, so I wasn't really connected to nature like she was. "That's just creepy."

  She went back to her computer with a little smirk on her face.

  I shook my head and stood up to find something to keep myself busy.

  Lee , the werewolf who owned the shop, finally made it in around noon. She'd looked exhausted from the hunt night before. As a wolf, the full moon forced her to shift into the beast that lived inside her. I knew that it wore her out, but she assured me that I could leave for the day. It hadn't been a very busy day, and nothing else odd happened. No other sketches from Delphi, and Teal didn't see any more faces in the wind. Nothing.

  I walked out of the soda shop and, instead of heading home, I strolled down the road the opposite direction. I could have used a nap, but I couldn't get the image of the man out of my head. Something in my mind tried to flash, but it was like the image was out of focus.

  A fight of some sort. My hands twitched again and a small pain shot through my fingers. Had I been trying to defend myself?

  A vague voice called out in my head. Shouts of anger so loud that I could feel the rage in me. I put my hands to my head to try and block out the memory. What the hell was going on?

  I crashed to my knees on the sidewalk, grasping my head in my hands as agony exploded behind my eyes. I could see the man, standing over me, a sword in his hands, ready to strike.

  "Amaya!" The voice from my dreams cut through the panic and pain, chasing away the phantom fears and clearing the fog from my mind.
r />   I stood up and looked around. I'd walked far enough along the road that I now stood in front of the cemetery. A man stood leaning against the iron archway, his black hair was tied back at his neck, and his hazel eyes met mine. Something familiar struck me as I studied his angular jaw, dusted with a five o'clock shadow that I wanted to run my hands over.

  He straightened up, and before I could say anything, he grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him. His lips crushed against mine in a desperate kiss that I didn't know how to respond to.

  I shoved him away. "What the hell?"

  He stared at me. "Amaya -"

  "I don't go by that name anymore."

  Hurt shadowed his eyes, and I couldn't figure out why. "Amaya."

  "Stop calling me that," I snapped. "Who the hell are you?"

  "I'm Zephyr. Amaya…" He hesitated as if waiting for me to snap at him again. "What have they done to you?"

  I stepped away from him, trying to control the panic that was bubbling up at his words. His name struck a chord with me. I wanted him to wrap his arms around me and hold me. I needed to feel the warmth of his lips on mine. But the man in front of me was a stranger. "I don't know what you're talking about."

  "Quit playing dumb, Amaya -"

  "May," I corrected him, trying to keep my calm. "I go by May now."

  "May, I've been looking for you for five years, and now I find you here hiding in the Kingdom of Nowhere."

  I raised a brow. "Normalcy. I was dumped here five years ago."

  "What?" He jerked as if I hit him. "Last time I saw you…" A gust of wind came up, throwing dirt into his face and cutting him off. I put an arm up to my eyes to stop the dust from hitting me.

  I heard a scream, and I cursed. The blood-curdling noise came from the soda shop. I glanced at Zephyr and shook my head. I didn't have time to deal with him right now. My feet pounded against the pavement as I ran to the soda shop. Zephyr ran after me, and I resisted the urge to tell him to fuck off.