Breaking the Nexus
by Lindsay Avalon
Mythrian #1
Also in this series: Warrior Unleashed, Waking the Phoenix
Genres: Paranormal, Romance
Publication Date: December 3, 2014
Also in this series: Warrior Unleashed, Waking the Phoenix
Genres: Paranormal, Romance
Publication Date: December 3, 2014
Synopsis
Book One in the Mythrian Realm Series
Throughout history, myths and legends of extraordinary creatures have been told and retold. Fantastic tales of demons and banshees, gryphons and dragons, and of course, magic. Stories that every child grows to learn are nothing more than fantasy…or are they? Beyond the world you see lies a hidden realm, the Mythrian Realm, inhabited by all of the creatures you’ve been told are mere fiction. Only one thing lies between humans and the truth: the Nexus. A magical barrier erected millennia ago to separate the two realms, it has stood the test of time. Until now.
For Mythrian Sha Phoenix, magic is nothing new. But when she stumbles upon a portal on the verge of collapse, her fate will forever change. Pulled through the portal into the Human Realm, she lands in the middle of Detective Connor Flynn’s brutal murder scene. Soon it is obvious someone is using blood magic to try to bring down the Nexus. Together, Connor and Sha must work to unravel the secrets before the barrier falls and the realms collide.
The Nexus is breaking and all hell is about to unleash…literally.
Excerpt
Breaking the Nexus
(Mythrian Realm, #1)
Foot
tapping a rapid little rhythm, Sha tried hard to maintain her composure. This
small room with its too big table and uncomfortable chair was making her
claustrophobic. She didn’t have issues with small spaces in general, it was the
austere walls painted an unimaginative gray and stained by years of use that
gave the impression they were closing in. Or maybe it was the fact she hadn’t
sensed any Gateways during her transportation here meaning she was stranded for
now. Lovely.
She’d
tried to study the city as the buildings zoomed by, but it hadn’t been easy.
The blow to her head had dazed her more than she’d wanted to admit and
everything was just so different from anything in Mythria. Most of the
buildings were tall, rectangular structures with little imagination; nothing
more than glass and metal thrown together. As fascinating as she found the
humans, they lacked vision. Sure there was the occasional structure that was
architecturally appealing, but what had happened to the gorgeous facades she’d
read about? The intricate stone carvings and detail? It made her homesick for
the beauty of her Mythrian cities.
Nice job, Sha. You’re sitting in a
box in unfamiliar territory and you’re obsessing because the buildings are
uglier than you expected them to be. Brilliant show of prioritization skills. When would that detective
get here? The sooner she could convince him she wasn’t a lunatic, the sooner
she could tackle the issue of what had caused the Gate to collapse. The only
answers she’d come up with so far didn’t bode well for the stability of the
Nexus. It was a thought that sent a chill racing down her spine.
“Cold
in here?”
She
jumped at the unexpected question. Either she was losing her touch or that man
had perfected the art of sneaking up on a person. His gruff, baritone voice
sent another shiver through her body, though she felt anything but cold. It was
surprise, not him, she assured herself. Right and gryphons are cowardly fools.
Who was she kidding? The detective was getting under her skin without even
trying.
“Uh,
no, it’s fine.”
“Good.
Did you kill the man in the alley?”
Sneaky
bastard was hoping to catch her off guard. She arched her brow at the brazen
question. “No. Do I really look like I am capable of killing him?”
“You’d
be surprised at the things I’ve seen, Ms. Phoenix. How’s the head? Did you get
checked out at the hospital?”
She
shrugged. “I’ve had worse.” It was true. As a trainee she’d had the brilliant
plan to take on a juvenile Scray demon on her own. It may not have been full
grown, but it had been twice her size and at least five time her strength. That
was one lesson she never forgot. “And yes, the doctors said I may have a mild
concussion. Nothing serious, though.”
The
hospital was an experience she hoped never to revisit. Riding in the
vehicle—car— had been exhilarating and a vast improvement over the carriages in
Mythria that were powered by either magic or beasts. However, once they’d
arrived at the hospital, she’d been overwhelmed by fear, desperation, and
death. Her empathy wasn’t one of her stronger talents but it was enough to
ensure she’d told the doctors whatever she thought would get her out of there
fastest. Back home, healers made house calls unless your injuries required
multiple intense sessions, so she’d never had to deal with such oppressive
feelings. How could people take their loved ones into a place such as that?
Increasingly she was coming to realize the Human Realm wasn’t quite what she’d
imagined after all.
Fingers
snapped in front of her, drawing her startled gaze. “Am I boring you, Ms. Phoenix?”
Sha
felt her cheeks begin to burn. “Sorry, Detective. I didn’t mean to let my mind
wander off like that. My brain must still be addled.” A noncommittal grunt was
his only response. Things were off to a wonderful start, she thought with a
scowl.
Long
moments passed, the uncomfortable silence making her want to squirm. Oh, she
knew exactly what he was doing. He wanted her agitated so she’d let something
slip. They’d been taught a similar tactic during training; lucky for her, she
didn’t have any knowledge to divulge. Squaring her shoulders, she met his gaze
unflinchingly.
“Wasn’t
there something you wanted to ask, Detective? Or did you just want to have a
staring contest?” A small part of her liked staring into his eyes, the intense
gray seeming to shift subtly, almost like mercury. Intriguing. She filed that
bit of information away to examine later.
“You’re
hiding something, aren’t you?”
She
decided to play dumb. “How can I hide anything when you haven’t asked a
question?”
“At
first I thought you were as high as a kite at the scene, but you’re more
intelligent than I thought.”
Why
did it sting that he’d thought she was high? “Is that a compliment or a
question?”
“A
statement.” He set a rectangular device on the table and a red light began to
blink. “I’ll be recording this if you don’t mind. You’ve already been advised
of your rights, have you not?” He paused, waiting for her response.
“Yes,
I have.”
“Good.
You were found in an alley lying in a pool of blood. How did you end up there?”
“I
don’t know.” It was close enough to the truth. No reason to mention the bit
about falling through an invisible, magical barrier.
“Do
you know this man?" A picture slapped down onto the table in front of her
showed a man, his skin waxy with a grayish cast and large purple shadows around
his eyes.
“No,
I’ve never seen him before.”
“Really?
I find that hard to believe when we found you within feet of his body. We’re
waiting on DNA confirmation, but unless you have an explanation for where the
blood in the alley originated, I’d say you and I both know it belongs to our
victim here. Let me ask you one more time. Do you know this man?”
Irritation
flashed through her body. “As you pointed out, Detective, I was found unconscious and prior to that had never
met the guy. I may have lain next to him, but that doesn’t mean I knew him. Who
is he?”
“I’m
working on determining that. He’s lacking his fingerprints, so it’s not as
simple to identify the body. What happened last night?”
“I
don’t know. All I remember is waking up, being confused, and being surrounded
by strange people. You showed up a short time later.”
“Where
are you from?” That man just didn’t know when to drop the subject, did he?
“I’m
from out of town.”
“Can
you be more specific?”
“A
town so small, I’m sure you’ve never heard of it.” Not far from the truth. Fire
Falls wasn’t tiny, but it wasn’t huge.
“Do
you take me for a fool? Stop lying, Ms. Phoenix. You had no ID on you, no
credit or debit cards, no cell phone, and your prints aren’t in the system.
Tell me the name of the town; it should be simple enough to verify it.”
“Trust
me, Detective, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
His
eyes sparked at her words, the irises seeming to shift with increasing speed.
If she didn’t know better, she’d think he had some Metallum ancestry. Only the
metal crafters in Mythria had eyes like that, but there was no way he could
share their blood.
“I’m
tired of your games. I have a body in the morgue and two other cases I believe
are related to this one.” He pulled out pictures of two other crime scenes and
placed them on the table in front of her. “This is your last chance. Answer me
now or I’ll have you locked up for obstruction of justice.”
Sha
stared at the two other images, stunned. “It can’t be,” she whispered.
He
sat back in his chair, studying her. “What can’t be? You recognize one of them
don’t you?”
She
didn’t know what compelled her to respond, however, she couldn’t halt the flow
of words. “I don’t know who the men are, but I recognize those runes. It’s impossible
you’d find them here.”
“Three
dead guys would beg to differ with you on that one. Where have you seen the
runes before?”
“You
wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
Connor’s
palms slammed on the table, the sound reverberating through the cramped room.
“Enough with the theatrics. Where…have…you…seen…these…
runes?”
He punctuated each word with a stab of his finger on the photographs.
“In
Mythria,” she blurted before she could stop herself. Mother Night. What had she just admitted?
Publication Date: September 16, 2013
Synopsis
Nothing is more dangerous than a warrior unleashed.
When Sentinels begin dying under mysterious circumstances, the deaths are believed to be unrelated. Only one man sees the truth: an unknown enemy is targeting the elite group of warriors and no one is safe. As a panther Chimerae, Achaius Rilke recognizes the signs of an unpredictable predator. The only person he can trust is Saia Makan, the tempestuous Sorceri who has driven him crazy for years. But when the killer has set his sights on Saia, Achaius faces the hunt of his life.
Waking the Phoenix
by Lindsay Avalon
Mythrian Realm #2
Also in this series: Breaking the Nexus, Warrior Unleashed
Genres: Paranormal, Romance
Publication Date: August 27, 2014
Also in this series: Breaking the Nexus, Warrior Unleashed
Genres: Paranormal, Romance
Publication Date: August 27, 2014
Synopsis
As two Realms collide, the world descends into chaos.
Is their love strong enough to survive the flames of the phoenix?
When Sha vanished through a portal in the middle of battle, Connor did not hesitate to follow the woman he had claimed as his. Now in the Mythrian Realm, they join forces with the Sentinels, the guardians of the Realms, to protect the world they love. Will they be able to contain the evil taking control? Or will they perish in the flames of war?
This is a continuation of Connor and Sha's story. Book 1, Breaking the Nexus, should be read first.
Playlist
Two Steps from Hell
Full Tilt
Nightwish
Epica
Avenged Sevenfold
Eluveitie
Epic North
Leaves' Eyes
Really Slow Motion
Sirenia
Brand X Music
Insomnium
Two Steps from Hell
Full Tilt
Nightwish
Epica
Avenged Sevenfold
Eluveitie
Epic North
Leaves' Eyes
Really Slow Motion
Sirenia
Brand X Music
Insomnium
About the Author
Lindsay Avalon is a wife, owner of a devious mini Schnauzer, programmer, and now an author. An avid reader, her amazing husband never seems to mind the multitude of books scattered around the house. However, after listening to the words “I have nothing to read” one too many times, he suggested Lindsay try her hand at writing her own books.
Since she’d never liked writing in school, she balked at the idea until her sister pestered her to participate in NaNoWriMo. It was then Lindsay realized that it was never writing she hated; it was writing boring essays. Creating worlds of magic, mystery, adventure, and romance became her true calling. In 2012, she embarked on the journey to become a self-published author and to bring her crazy ideas to life.
In 2013, Lindsay decided to ask a fellow author about her publishing company, Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly. It was a spur of the moment, impulsive decision, and one which Lindsay is eternally grateful she made. Though self-publishing was exhilarating, being a part of her amazing publishing family gives her a bit of structure in her chaotic existence.
When she’s not writing or spending time with her husband, she’s hiding out from devious bears seeking to thwart her writing efforts, pestering her amazing friends and personal assistant, creating works of art in resin, and a multitude of other things that capture her attention at the moment. You can find Lindsay online spreading insanity across Facebook and interacting with her many lovelies. She loves hearing from her readers and fellow writers!
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