Guarding the Goddess Read online

  “You’re not the only one,” Isabel informed Lisa. “I’m about to lay an egg.”

  And, as always happened with chewchies, their emotions were doubled and then trebled until Lisa felt like she might burst with pure joy. As she sent a prayer of thanks to the Goddess, she knew that she wasn’t the only one who was expecting. Somewhere back on Helios Prime, she felt an echo of her own joy coming from Tisa, Commander Ty’rial’s chewchie. The Potentate—Ellina—was pregnant too. Pregnant with a Sacred Blue baby girl who was destined to rule the planet after her.

  “I’m so happy for you”, she whispered and sent a burst of love and affection to the girl she had met only briefly, but now felt so intimately connected with.

  And, as she felt an answering burst of happiness and caring return from light years away, Lisa knew that all would be well both on the Mother Ship and on Helios Beta as the Goddess looked after all her children.

  The End? Of course not!

  There are always new Kindred Tales novels on the way. But now, I'd like to introduce you to a new series I'm writing called Nocturne Academy. The first book in this series, LOCK AND KEY, is available for preorder now. You can buy it or, if you are a KU reader, you can get it on KU after it has been out about a week. Just depends on whether you want to wait or not.

  Look for the blurb and the gorgeous cover by Reese Dante on the next pages, but first, if you have enjoyed Guarding the Goddess, please take a moment to leave a review HERE. Reviews are so important in this crazy, over-crowded ebook market. They let other readers know it's okay to take a chance on a new author or a new series. Plus they give me the warm fuzzies. : )

  Hugs and Thanks for being such an Awesome Reader!

  Evangeline

  LOCK AND KEY

  Book 1 of the Nocturne Academy series

  Coming January 2020

  What do a mysterious necklace, forbidden Blood Magic rituals, and a tall, sarcastic Nocturne boy with the face of a fallen angel all have in common?

  Me, apparently.

  Because ever since I started school at Nocturne Academy, strange things have been happening to me. There's the weird key necklace I found at a flea market and put on...which starts to choke me when I try to take it off. Also, the fact that I met a boy—a tall, beautiful, bitingly sarcastic Nocturne—who has a necklace that matches it, only his has a lock. His name is Griffin Darkheart and I can't seem to stay away from him, even though he's being Censured for mysterious crimes nobody seems to know the details of. Add that to the fact that the student body is composed of vampires, witches, were-dragons, and fairies and I no longer know what my future holds.

  Right now I'm just hoping to graduate alive, but that may not be possible. Because Nocturne Academy is full of deadly dangers...

  And I've already got a target on my back.

  Author's Note about

  Nocturne Academy / LOCK AND KEY

  I have to let you know if you're a non-Amazon reader that Lock and Key will only be available for a short time at non-Amazon vendors. Very shortly after publication, it will be going to Kindle Unlimited and will be exclusive to Amazon.

  You may wonder, why am I trying KU again after all these years? Well, I feel like the big A is leaving me no choice. After their last algorithm change, new readers can no longer find my backlist, which means fewer book sales—a LOT fewer. (I have heard from other non-KU authors that they are having the same problem.) And since I have to pay the bills, I am going to put my new series, Nocturne Academy, into Kindle Unlimited and see how it does. Please, no nasty emails—this is me trying to make a living for my family. So if you are a non-Amazon reader and you want to buy a copy of Lock and Key, please pre-order it now so that it will get to you on release day. Later, you won't be able to get it except through Amazon.

  Hugs and Happy Reading,

  Evangeline

  One

  “Blood stones.”

  “Excuse me?” I looked up from the heap of jewelry, laid out the rickety folding table. It sparkled like plastic diamonds under the hot Tampa sun.

  “Blood stones,” the old woman who stood behind the table said again. She nodded at the necklace I’d been examining. It stood out in the glittering, tawdry jumble, maybe because it didn’t glitter—at least, the necklace itself didn’t. The fine-linked chain was made of some matte black metal I had never seen before. Hanging from it was an unusual pendant—a single key made from the same black metal and studded with four tiny crimson stones. The key was about an inch long and felt unusually heavy in my hand.

  “You mean these?” I pointed to the stones set in the head of the key. “I thought they were garnets.” There’s no way they could be rubies. Nothing that valuable would turn up at a flea market on the bad side of town. At least, I assumed this was the bad side of town. I’d only been in Tampa a few hours but so far I wasn’t impressed.

  “They’re rare.” The old woman nodded solemnly, as though imparting a piece of secret wisdom. “A piece like this…it’s not for just anyone.”

  “Riiiight,” I said skeptically. I could tell what the old woman was trying to do—she wanted to make the necklace seem special, unique. Doubtless so she could charge more for it.

  I was tempted to put it down and walk away. The flea market was crowded and loud and the heat from the Florida sun was oppressive—like wearing a fur coat I couldn’t take off. The long-sleeved Henley shirt I had on wasn’t helping but changing clothes wasn’t an option. All these minor aggravations added up and I was in no mood to be hustled, especially by a saleswoman who looked like one of the three weird sisters from Macbeth.

  But somehow I couldn’t let the necklace go.

  “Try it on,” the old woman urged, leaning forward. “You’ll know if it’s right when you try it.” She had straggly gray hair and a hooked nose with a wart on one side. Seriously, all she needed was a broomstick and a black cat to complete the image.

  “I don’t know…” I said. But already my hands were slipping the black chain over my head, moving independently of my reluctant thoughts.

  The necklace settled naturally around my neck and the key slipped into the open collar of my shirt and came to rest just above my breasts, almost as though it was coming home. Despite the fact that it had been lying out in the bright, hot sunlight, the metal felt strangely cool against my skin—almost cold in fact.

  “Looks good.” The old woman nodded approvingly. “The blood stones are almost the color of your hair.”

  “Not really. It just looks that way because of the light.” I put a hand to my long, wavy hair self-consciously. It’s brown but it looks wine-red in the sun—not that I got out to admire the effect very often. With my pale complexion I exploded into freckles if I spent too much time in direct sunlight so I pretty much avoided it like the plague. It had never been too much of a problem in Seattle, where I grew up. But after just a few hours in the intense Florida heat, I was beginning to think it was time to invest in some serious sun block.

  “It looks good on you,” the old woman insisted, nodding at the necklace. “You should buy it.”

  “That’s really nice of you to say but I don’t have much money on me.” I tried to sound regretful but honestly, I just wanted to get away. The old woman was giving me the creeps and the sun seemed to have gotten even hotter in the last few minutes. It pounded against my skull like a golden hammer, making me feel vaguely nauseous.

  I hate being hot.

  “I need to go find my aunt,” I gave as an excuse, as I pulled the necklace over my head to return it. Or tried to anyway.

  Because the necklace wouldn’t come off.

  I tried again. Hadn’t it slipped over my head with the greatest of ease just a moment before? The chain had been long enough that the key pendant settled almost between my breasts. But now it didn’t seem long enough to come off and the key was higher—nestled in the hollow of my throat.

  “It likes you.” The weird old woman eyed me with bird-like interest as I fumbled with the ne