Entranced,
Electric Desert Nights Book 1, by @JewelQuinlan
#99cents #ShortStory
#NewRelease
Blurb:
When vampire, Wade, is told by a
psychic that he’s going to meet his soulmate at Electric Daisy Carnival in Las
Vegas, he thinks it’s a load of crap. It’s where paranormal beings go every
year to feed on human partygoers. But Wade’s curiosity won’t stop plaguing him
while he’s there with his friends. When a near fatal accident thrusts him
together with beautiful Yesenia, a human, both their eyes are opened to the
mystical connection between them.
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Enjoy this excerpt:
“Hey,
Scarlett, you want to know why Wade’s scrutinizing every chick that passes?”
Scarlett
perked up. “Why?”
Wade
frowned at the incubus’s teasing tone. “What? I’m hungry.”
An
amused smile spread across Somer’s handsome face. “Wade’s soulmate is supposed
to be here tonight. Come on, Wade. You don’t really believe what that hag in
Miami said, do you?”
“What
hag?” Scarlett looked back and forth at the two of them.
Wade
stuck his hands in his jean pockets and kicked at some litter on the ground.
“No.”
It
had been a mistake to pop into the psychic’s shop while he’d been with Somer at
Ultra Music Festival in Miami. But, at the time, he’d been a little drunk and
high himself because he’d fed on the blood of several people who’d been under
the influence. Getting his fortune read had seemed like a bit of random fun.
But when he’d sat down with the woman at her velvet-covered table and spread the
colorful tarot cards out before her, her eyes and tone had pierced him with
their gravity.
The
candles in the sconces on the wall behind her had made her head seem like it
was a floating oracle—probably because he’d been high—and it had mesmerized
him. “You are going to have an unusually long life,” she’d said glancing at his
palm. “And you will have no lack of good health.”
Somer,
sitting next to him, had started sniggering at that point.
Then
she looked at the cards on the table. “You’ve had a happy life so far, but you
want more,” she said. “A while ago, something inside you led you to seek an
unusual path. But this path is not as wonderful as you expected it to be.
Something is missing.” Her long bony fingers had stroked at the images on the
cards as though she were receiving messages by touching them.
Somer’s
sniggering increased in volume, and the psychic had pinned him with her large
milky eyes. In a low voice she’d asked him to wait outside because he was
disrupting the flow of energy. He’d left without protest, and the psychic had
proceeded with Wade’s reading. That’s when she’d gone into greater detail about
his current life and his future. She’d commented on his constant travel, his
small circle of tight-knit friends, and the loneliness he felt now. He hadn’t
said a word to confirm or deny anything, but she’d been right. Vampires tended
not to stay in any one place too long. And paranormal creatures tended to be
loners, which meant it was difficult to make friends. At the time, Wade had
been dwelling on the fact that the last remnants of his human life were fading
away. The remainder of his human friends and relatives had died at the
beginning of the year, and he no longer had anyone to look in on.
It
wasn’t something he ever talked about, so having a stranger home in on his
deepest feelings had made them even more real and depressing.
The
psychic had swept away the first batch of cards and laid more down. She smiled
as she gestured to a cluster of three with yellow backgrounds and pictures
involving smiling people holding cups. “Things are going to change for the
better. Happiness is on its way.”
He’d
perked up at that and hope had streaked through him. He hadn’t realized how
much he’d needed it until that moment, however ridiculous the whole thing was.
She
flipped another card over. “You’re going to meet your soulmate.” She flipped
two more cards over. “Yes. In June, at a place you’ve been before. There will
be a lot of people there.”
There
was only one place that could be. Here, at the twentieth anniversary of EDC.
The reading had ended after that, and a stunned Wade had walked out and told
Somer everything. Big mistake. He would never hear the end of it.
He
knew the whole psychic thing was a bunch of bullshit. They were notorious
liars. It was just that that damn jag of hope had taken root inside him. As the
days had passed, curiosity had sprouted from it, one that demanded to be
satisfied. And now he couldn’t stop himself from looking at all the girls the
way he was. Would he know it was her on sight?
“What
hag?” Scarlett asked again.
Somer
filled her in than smirked and asked, “Do vampires even believe in love?”
Wade
glared at him.
“Why
wouldn’t they?” Scarlett said, her brown eyes filled with compassion. “Love is
amazing. There’s no reason vampires should spend eternity without it. You just
haven’t felt it yet, Somer.” Her face lit up as she said, “Someday you’ll see.
It’s so powerful and freeing. Nick and I couldn’t imagine ever being apart.
Even after all this time, it’s like I can still feel him.” A smile flashed
across her pretty face. She was becoming more opaque, the wispy pale traces of
her features were filling out and taking on healthy human colors. Her creamy
skin was kissed with just a hint of sun, and her brown eyes were kind. Her clothing
was the same outfit she’d died in, jean cutoff shorts and a fringed bikini top.
She solidified every year on the anniversary of her death.
“So
did this soothsayer give you any details at all? Did she describe the woman or
tell you how you were going to meet?” Somer persisted.
“Nah,
she just said I would meet my soulmate here.” Wade answered Somer’s teasing
question for Scarlett’s benefit. Somer had only given her a short synopsis.
“What
about a time? Did she give you a time?”
Scarlett
shook her head. “You can be a real rascal sometimes, Somer.”
Wade’s
fist streaked out in a blur to punch Somer in the gut.
“Oof!”
Somer cringed back, hands pressed to his midsection. But the blow failed to
wipe the smile off his face.
“No,
she didn’t. Besides, if she was right—and I doubt that she is—I don’t have to
look for her. She’ll come to me.” Wade shrugged. “Whatever. Let’s head over to
Kinetic Field. DJ Momo is coming on soon.”
He
turned and began walking, the other two trailing behind him. And, as the last
glow of sunlight disappeared, Scarlett completed her shift into solid form.
About the Author:
Restless by nature, Jewel Quinlan is an
avid traveler and has visited sixteen countries so far. Lover of ice cream, dark
beer, and red wine she tries to stay fit when she’s not typing madly on her
computer concocting another romance novel. In her spare time, she likes to do
yoga, hike, learn German, and play with her spoiled Chihuahua, Penny.
For more information about Jewel Quinlan
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