Title:
The Eternal Gift (The Eternal Series #1)
Author: Candy Crum
Release
Day: April 13, 2014
*Synopsis*
A young girl (Kailah) discovers that she is
from a lost and forgotten powerful Immortal blood line after she meets a
strange new physician at work. She begins to have visions and see spirits and
has trouble controlling bad things from happening when she is angry. Along the
way she discovers the terrible truth about who she is and the incredible power
that is locked away deep inside her. Her Immortal ancestors want to use her to
destroy the vampire race. Vampires want to use her power to destroy her
Immortal ancestors. But hiding in the shadows are those who have been watching
her since she was born. They want to help Kailah discover who she is and help
her learn to use her abilities. They simply want for her to make the right
decision before it's too late. Unfortunately for them time is not on their side
and the Rogue Vampires have plans for Kailah no one could have imagined.
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*Excerpt*
The night was
cool and thick as it sheathed me in total darkness. The satin shorts and
camisole that I’d gone to bed in were now damp from the moisture hanging
heavily in the air. Holding my hands in front of my body, I blindly wandered
around in blackness as I tried to find some kind of clue that would give me a
better picture. My bare feet told me that I was standing on soft ground, the
tall grass tickling my calves as I moved. It was possible that I was in a large
pasture, though the clean, crisp scent of the air let me know that no large
animals were near.
Thunder cracked
in the distance and the ominous, coal-black clouds had even chased the moon and
stars into hiding, not even the faintest glow giving away their location. It
took a moment, but my mind was finally beginning to recognize this place. This
was a dream world, one that I’d seen before. With every passing night, with every
passing dream, I was able to travel further and further into this illusion as I
tried to discover its meaning. I’d had recurring dreams before, but there was
something different, disturbing about this one that seemed to speak to me.
There was something that I was supposed to learn here and I needed to find it.
The wind began
to pick up and I looked to the north, the same direction that I looked to every
night. Lightning cascaded across the sky, illuminating the massive, empty
pasture in which I stood. The momentary flash brought something to my attention
that I’d never seen in the dream before. Two figures stood off in the distance,
several yards between them, facing off. Even with great distance between us, I
could feel the tension rolling off of them. That must be the dark, heavy
feeling in the air that I’d felt: anger, hatred.
Thunder rolled
again as the lightning danced across the sky. Using the display to light my
path, I ran toward the figures ahead of me. As I approached, a bolt of raw,
electric energy reached down from the sky and ignited the immediate area in
flames. The swift turn of events stopped me short, nearly throwing me to the
ground. The flames spread into a perfect circle as it surrounded both figures,
blocking any further approach by me. Sharp chills cut through me from head to
toe as I realized that one of them was fully controlling the blaze.
Now that I was
closer, I could tell that the figures were women. One woman, maybe an inch or
two over five feet tall, stood around fifty feet away, and to my right. Her
long, jet-black hair reached just below her hips and whipped around in the
increasing wind. As I studied her, I began to see a deep-red, transparent
cloud, like an aura surrounding her. She was strong, very strong, and I could feel
her overwhelming power from here.
Looking to my
left, her opponent was roughly the same height; only her hair was frosty white
and hung to her knees. This woman was much different. She was surrounded by an
aura cloud as well, though hers was dark blue. Something about her called to me
and it took everything I had not to trudge barefooted through the flames to
reach her.
Rain began to
fall and quickly soaked everything around us, though it was still unable to
extinguish the fire. Movement brought me to attention as the white haired woman
lifted her arms. The earth began to quake beneath me as it broke free all
around her. She looked like a dancer as she maneuvered her body, forcing the
element into submission under her power. The packed earth sailed through the
air towards the dark haired woman, but she was quick to react.
In a flash, she
completely disappeared from my sight, managing to dodge the attack. My eyes
moved quickly as I focused to find her. My body locked up as my vision was
suddenly clouded with the mysterious dark haired woman as she appeared before
me, seemingly out of nowhere. Her dark, emerald green eyes and dilated
coal-black pupils stared into mine, glinting in the firelight. Her raven hair
seemed alive as it brushed my skin and sent tingles running through my body.
Her flawless, olive-toned skin nearly glowed as she stood there, concern in her
expression. “Kailah.” As her soft, sweet voice spoke my name, I inhaled
sharply. Though her mouth barely moved as she spoke my name, her perfect, white
teeth showed just enough for me to make out four tiny, yet still elongated,
razor sharp fangs. My heart fluttered rapidly as I wondered if this woman was
the creature that she appeared to be, and if so, how did she know me and what
did she want with me?
“Y-yes?” I
stammered.
“This is not a
dream, Kailah. It’s a warning.” She leaned in closer. “Run,” she whispered.
“Wait, what?” I
asked, chills once again stabbing me like thousands of needles running from the
roots of my hair to the bare, wet soles of my feet.
“Run!”
As soon as I
turned to run, the dark thunder cracked overhead and the lightning began
touching the ground all around me, trying to hold me where I stood. I heard a
loud growl sound out from behind me, but decided not to look back. The earth
began to shake again and my bare feet slid on the wet grass, the soft ground
cushioning me as I fell hard on my right hip.
“Hello Kailah.”
The new voice sent a shiver down my spine as I looked into the icy blue eyes of
the white-haired woman.
Though her hair
would have suggested otherwise, she looked no older than me: around twenty. Her
skin was also olive toned and absolutely flawless, just like the other woman.
Though, normally, one would look to the light as salvation and the darkness as
hell, I didn’t think that was the case in this situation. Her crystalline blue
eyes had death in them and I found myself backing away from her, toward the
raven-haired beauty.
She laughed and
the sound enveloped me like frigid water.
“Kailah, you
would choose the Vampire over your own grandmother?”
Before I could
digest the words that she had unleashed on me, her attention shifted and the
blue aura cloud surrounding her exploded into a barrier. Instinctively, my eyes
closed and I threw my hand out as a large throwing knife bounced off the cloudy
shield and headed for me.
“It is you!” she
said with wonder.
My eyes snapped
open and surrounding my hand was the same blue energy that surrounded the
white-haired woman, only mine had a throwing knife buried in it. I couldn’t
stop the scream that bubbled up out of my throat as the energy dissipated and
the knife fell in my lap. What the hell was going on?
Her attention
shifted again and with soft, graceful movements, a lightning bolt responded as
it split from the sky and reached for her outstretched hand. She caught the
energy easily before throwing it at her opponent. Another loud growl sounded
out only a moment before something slammed hard into the barrier. That
something, I realized, was the woman she had referred to as the Vampire.
Dark red energy
swelled around the supposed Vampire as she pushed against the barrier of the
opposing woman. “Kailah! She can find you in your dreams! Go, now!” As soon as
the order left the raven-haired beauty’s lips, energy exploded from her body as
the white-haired woman was thrown several feet away. “This dream is a figment
of your own mind but, make no mistake, this is a premonition. You are the key
to ending this war and if she finds you, it will doom all humans to a fate worse
than death. Leave this realm now and prepare your mind. Your life is about to
change.”
*About the Author*
Candy Crum lives in Indiana and is the Author of “The Eternal
Series” and other short stories. She published her first novel, The Eternal
Gift, in May of 2011 and has been publishing ever since. Candy is an avid lover
of the paranormal genre, stemming from years of reading the Vampire Chronicles
by Anne Rice when she was a teenager. Later, she developed a deep love of the
Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead and the House of Night Series by P.C.
Cast and Kristin Cast, furthering her love of the genre and pushing her to
really push to finish and publish her novel. Since then, Candy has released
three other books in The Eternal Series and will release another later in 2014.
Now, Candy is trying her hand at more contemporary pieces of work, like that of
Lean on Me and other books she will release in 2014. Some of Candy’s interests
include the usual reading and writing, music (of most types), movies (action
and comedy or any combination of the two), cartoons (she loves to say that her
children watch cartoons because she does), and drawing. She loves talking with
her fans and loves reading the reviews that her fans are kind enough to leave
for her. Always feel free to find Candy on Facebook and send her a message.
*Social Media Links*
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/candycrumbooks
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