Nada Berch goes about her life as a nurse, trying to ignore the fact that she's different. When her dreams become nightmares, she meets a kind vet that wants to help her remember her past. Is she ready to face the truth of what she is? Travel along with Nada in this saga as she falls in love, meets her maker and tries to save all that she knows and cares for.
Excerpt from A Modern Myth: Drew's Destiny
It was dark...dark and dank. He looked around the cramped space, his gaze scanning the earthen walls. He had fallen asleep by his campfire, so he didn?t know how he?d gotten inside the cave. His ears suddenly became aware of a distant sound. Its eeriness caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end. He involuntarily shivered but resisted rubbing his hands down his arms.
He sensed a presence and suddenly spun around to seize the intruder by the throat, just as her hand touched him. Through the darkness, his eyes focused on the familiar face.
?What are you doing here?? She asked.
He blinked a few times. ?I?ve been looking for you.?
She nodded and then looked beyond his shoulder. Ignoring the hand on her neck, she gestured in the direction of her glance.
?You?re not the only one.?
His brow furrowed as he followed her gaze, his hand falling away from his sister?s throat. ?What?s back there??
When no response came, he looked back at her and gasped to see her gone. He opened his mouth to call her name, but a growl distracted him. He spun toward the sound and saw the shadows flicker in the distance. He bit his lower lip as he contemplated moving closer. He closed his eyes for a moment and concentrated. Very little of late actually scared him, so the surge of fear was surprising. He had seen and experienced too much in his short life to fear too many things, but he definitely feared whatever lurked at the end of that tunnel.
His eyes slowly opened, and he took a step forward and then another. The growling grew louder with each step, and he took a deep breath to settle his nerves. He tried to prepare himself, but nothing could prepare him for what he saw when he emerged from the tunnel. The thing flew at him from the darkness. In his surprise he fell backward with a choked gasp. He pushed himself up to his elbows and stared at the winged beast hovering over him. He tried to speak but nothing came out, his lips moving soundlessly in horror. As the thing moved closer, its malicious grimace looked like an insane smile. It opened its mouth, as if to speak?or attack. He fell to his back as he threw his arms across his face. Finally, a scream broke through and shook the stone walls.
Drew Berch awoke with a scream that scared every bird within a mile. It took several minutes before they quieted enough for Drew to hear his own ragged breathing. He sat up in his sleeping bag and looked around the clearing. The fire had been out for hours, but he could see everything in the blackness beyond. He kicked aside the top of the bag, ripping the material from the zipper in his haste to stand. He turned full circle several times before slowly dropping into a predatory crouch, his eyes continuing to search the area. The tips of his fingers dug into the ground, as his breathing became more regular. Drew slowly licked his lips as his gaze moved to the lake on his left and then the mountains in the distance. He should have known that visiting the area where his mother had been violated might be unsettling, but he hadn?t expected the nightmare.
Remaining in the crouch, Drew scrambled toward the lake. When he reached the edge, he cupped his hands together and dipped them beneath the surface. He lifted his hands to his face and let the water cool his flushed cheeks. He, his sister, Dawn, and his mother, Nada Berch Duncan, weren?t like other families. It had been less than eight years since Nada had been in Germany, at the very place where he now crouched. She and her fianc?, Derek, had been backpacking across Europe. A shape shifting panther named Kyros attacked them and had killed Derek. It had then altered Nada forever. Three years later, Kyros found and then mated with her. Drew and Dawn were a result of that union; however, neither twin looked only four years old. Both were full grown, and Drew stood just over 6 ? feet in height. They had both inherited much from their father. While Drew fought against the evil inside him, Dawn had succumbed to it. Like both their parents, they could morph into whatever was in their blood. Dawn had morphed into Nada and seduced Grady Duncan, a man who discovered her shocking secret. She had infected and then mated with him. After Dawn tried to kill Nada and her friends, Drew had to fight his sister. Dawn had then fled to Europe where their creator awaited her. Knowing she was his responsibility, Drew had followed her from Los Angeles.
Since Dawn was in Greece, Drew wondered again why he went to Germany first. It couldn?t be to visit the campsite where Nada had been infected after she watched her lover die. Drew stared at his reflection in the lake. He knew he resembled Derek, the man his father had mimicked while he raped Nada. Derek had been his mother?s first love. As he continued to stare at his reflection, Drew realized he knew his purpose for being there. Although Nada loved Grady, it still upset her that there had been no closure with Derek. His body had never been found after Kyros killed him.
Drew took in a ragged breath and shook his head. His father had been a monster but nothing like that creature in his nightmare. Drew had the horrible feeling he would actually come face to face with that nightmare, and that it would be much sooner than later. The un-pleasant thought made him shudder. He hadn?t liked the mind numbing fear. His brain wouldn?t even let him get a clear picture of what it looked like, though it made his tall frame seem small by comparison. Drew concentrated on the wings instead. Both he and Nada could bring on the wings, though he knew that Dawn couldn?t. He absently wondered why.
Dawn had been in his dream, and he wondered if she dreamt of the winged beast as well. She told him that it also searched for her, which told him that it hadn?t found her or that she hadn?t found it. She went to Greece to find something. Was that beast what she searched for? Was that why Drew couldn?t sense his sister anymore? Were they together? Had it killed her?
?Oh hell,? he muttered as he swept his hand across the water?s surface, fragmenting his reflection. He shook his head and turned away from the lake. No, he would sense her death, even if he couldn?t sense her location. She was alive and well. ?Where are you, Dawn??
You can purchase the paperback or ebook at Amazon.com
Cover model: Jason Aaron Baca
