Free The Frozen Moon: Book Two of The Living Curse series + BONUS Full Version of Book Three! by J.D. Swinn

expressions of horror, an image that she would never rid herself of.  Her legs continued to heave beneath her, pressing forward with all the strength they could find in her heavily taxed muscles.  Her sword was up over her head, and she brought it down again and again.  She struck out again and again.  She killed again and again.
                  She slaughtered the monstrous things until her torn body could simply take no more, as the last one fell she dropped to her knees, and the floor came up to greet her.  She knew her eyes were still open, but she could barely force them to make out blurry shapes.  Through her mind swam the thoughts of disorientation, Where am I?  What happened?   The world went black, different from the soft white of the vampire bite.  Was this what death was like?  She felt free of pain, her body some distant entity that she was aware of but not connected to, like the sun, moon, or stars.  She was pulled up through the tunnel of a night sky, flitting away from her body without a second thought.  The vampire’s magic trickled into her thoughts and polluted her mind; everything felt easy and natural.  No more questions resounded in her mind, just the corrupted and repeated knowledge: this is the way of the world.
     

Fading Horizons
     
    We are those who cling to moments,
    Grasp at straws and time gone by.
    We know not the onyx oceans
    That lay beyond the horizon.
     
    Can we not continue on?
    Leave this sunset far behind
    Before this golden light turns
    To pitch black?
    Even sunsets, in all their splendor,
    Give way to night.
     
     
     

CHAPTER SIX TEEN: MOVING ON
     
     
    When her thoughts began to clear, she could think only of Eve and Gwen; what had become of them?  She felt something warm encircling her tightly, giving her the feeling of being a child pulled up onto her father’s lap.  It was this that caused her to snap into reality, opening her eyes slowly only to snap them shut again once she realized that she had a splitting headache. 
                  “Guys, I think she’s awake,” said a soft voice that sounded near.  Hushed exchanges of words followed, then movement on all sides.  Did she dare try to open her eyes again?  The only action Nameh desired was to slip back into the darkened sleep she had prematurely emerged from.  She decided to assess her damage first.  She twitched her toes, then her ankles, legs, hips, spine-ouch.  She moved her spine slightly again, and was greeted with a sharp pain up her back, and learned quickly not to do that again.  She continued with her fingers, wrists, shoulders, neck-that was the second thing she wouldn’t move again.  Her damage now assessed, she slowly opened her eyes again, and found a strange scene about her.  She was still in the warehouse, she must not have blacked out for too long.  She glanced up to see soft faces looking down on her, even in the dim light they looked framed with white; her eyes hadn’t yet adjusted.  Seth’s harsh features now took a softer, more concerned light, as they all did.  She realized that the warmth she had felt around her were arms, she was being carried by Seth, Cal, Max, and Talar.  Though she had nearly died, she was still surprised how comfortable she felt in the arms of her friends.  She thought it strange that four of them were needed to carry her, but then they were all fatigued beyond measure.
                  “Thanks for joining us,” Seth said in his low, raspy voice.
                  “Yeah, well I thought I’d grace you with my presence,” she mumbled.  There was laughter nearby, and she realized that Wyd and Mira also followed.  She was now growing more conscious of her own body, as though her mind was crawling slowly back into it.  She hung in midair, cradled by four separate points; it was not exactly a comfortable situation.
                  “Yeah, guys?  You can put me down now.”  Her