Introduction
Joshua and Josie Parker are antique hunters with a penchant
for enchanted items. Josie’s discovery of a secret map in a genie lamp sets the
siblings on a magical adventure to Galveston Island. An adventure that leaves
each of them in precarious situations, one of them facing death and the other a
broken heart.
When Joshua triggers the genie, his life is turned upside
down. Instinct has him wanting to save the genie but will his determination
cost his sister her life? Join the siblings on an adventure that will leave you
wondering, what if?
Prologue
The clouds rolled across the sky with a furious determination to cloak
the world in darkness. Amani watched with horror as her little brother, Faris
battled the wicked wind and downpour of rain to get the horses into the
stables. The majestic animals were their livelihood, they managed the royal
stables and if anything happened to one of the precious creatures their family
would face terrible wrath from the prince. It was rumored the prince loved his
horses more than his wives, especially Black Knight.
Amani rung her hands and bounced softly from one foot to the other as
Faris ran the last horse, the fine stallion of amazing pedigree, toward the
stables. She waited for him at the stable door, ready to close it tight once he
was over the threshold. Unfortunately, Black Knight was not in tune with his
namesake and when lightning struck a nearby tree he reared up, putting Faris in
danger.
She sucked in a scared breath, she’d seen fear in the majestic creatures’
faces before but this was terror and Black Knight was not easily tamed. His
wild nature was why the Prince named him his favorite.
“Where are you going, boy?” A man wearing a black mask and dark clothes
stepped in front of Faris, blocking him from the stable entrance. Somehow the
man didn’t see her or maybe he didn’t see her as a threat.
“I’m trying to lock the horses up. Please step out of my way,” Amani
heard her brother say. Her feet moved before her brain knew what was really
happening. She rushed to her father’s office and picked up the shot gun.
Checking to make sure it was loaded and the safety was off, she ran back to the
entryway of the stables to provide back up for her brother if he needed her.
“I’ll take, Black Knight,” the intruder told him. The horse reared up
angrily at the storm raging around them.
The coldness in the cloaked man’s voice ran shivers up Amani’s spine.
She’d always been good at gauging a person’s emotions but this man sounded void
of anything but hatred, cold, bitter hatred. It made her skin crawl. Another
crack of lightning snapped a tree branch from the trunk. The horse pulled and
bucked, reacting in fear, his only motivation was to get away.
Faris caught Amani’s eyes and puffed his chest, raising his chin
defiantly. While he attempted to steady the furious black stallion he said,
“I’m sorry but it’s my duty to protect the horses with my life.”
“If you’re willing to pay with your life than so be it.” The masked man
flung a dagger at Faris and Amani screamed as the knife sunk into her brother’s
chest. The light that left his eyes as he crumbled to the ground told Amani the
robber hit his heart.
She didn’t think. Her father taught her to fight. Taught her to shoot the
shotgun in her hand if she ever needed to defend her family. She knew as the
scream left her lips that she only had moments before the assailant thrust a
dagger in her direction. She felt the kick from the shotgun before she knew she
had even pulled the trigger.
Black Knight lunged into the air, front hooves landing on the man she
shot. If the bullet hadn’t killed the man the horse stomping finished the job.
It was a gruesome sight. Amani dropped the gun and fell to her knees. She’d
just had a hand in taking a man’s life. Emotions flooded her. Fear, sadness,
remorse, disgust for her act. It didn’t matter that she was following through
with her duty to protect the horses, that she was entitled to take vengeance on
the man who murdered her little brother in cold blood, or that she was worried
for her own life. None of that matter because she’d committed the most heinous
of crimes, she’d taken a life. There was no coming back from this.
The tears that fell were as heavy as the rain from the angry clouds
overhead. The blood was too much and Amani had to turn her head from the sight
of the two bodies that laid dead in front of her.
There was another scream that broke through the storm like a thief, this
one of pure misery. Amani looked up to see another intruder, this one a woman.
The newcomer ran to the bloody, beaten body of the man Amani had murdered.
Black Knight had disappeared but that didn’t matter now. Her brother was dead
and so was the intruder.
The grieving woman glared daggers at Amani’s frail form. “You did this.”
She pointed an aged finger toward Amani’s wilting frame.
“I’m so sorry,” she pleaded with the woman.
“No, you’re not sorry.” The woman stalked toward Amani, pulling her hood
down and allowing the rain to soak her from head to toe. “You’re not sorry.”
She pulled Amani to a standing position. “But you will be. I curse you!”
“What?” Amani staggered back. “No, he killed my brother. He was going to
kill me, I had no choice.” Even as the words left her mouth she knew they were
wasted. She burst into tears, covering her face with her hands, hiding her
shame. “I wish I could take it back.”
“You wish? You wish? Foolish girl, don’t you know wishes are the devil’s
tools?”
Amani shook her head. “No.”
“You killed my son and I could kill you but I’d rather see you suffer. I
curse you to spend an eternity granting other people’s wishes, maybe someday
you’ll realize what a wish really is.” She ripped an emerald heart necklace off
her neck and pressed the jewel to Amani’s forehead as she chanted in a foreign language
Amani had never heard of before. Amani frantically tried to escape the old
woman’s grasp, but she was far stronger than her frail appearance demonstrated.
One minute she was fighting to get out of the old woman’s grasp and the
next she was transported to another place. The new place looked like a pasture
on earth, only the colors were off. Everything had a grey tint to it. Even
stranger, there were no sounds, no animals, no rain. The place was void of
people…void of life. Where was she and how did she get home?
Want more? You can get the whole story here on Amazon.
You can also get this story in my Paranormal Affairs box set which includes the first books in 11 of my hottest, highly rated paranormal series. Free with Kindle Unlimited or $4.99 for the set. Have a wonderful weekend....
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