Queen of Diamonds (12 page)

Authors: Sandra Cox

Dear Reader,

Besides Caroline and Logan, my family loves Haystacks. Have you ever made them? In case you haven’t and would like to try them, the recipe’s on the next page.

Sandra

Caroline’s Haystacks Recipe

1 can of Chow Mein noodles

1 package of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 package of butterscotch chips

1 package of cashews

Pan

Wooden Spoon

Wax Paper

Melt chips on low heat

Mix in Chow Mein and cashews

Drop by spoonfuls on wax paper and let set

Like Vampires or YA romances? An excerpt from Vampire Bay is on the following pages.

Excerpt from Vampire Bay

Prologue

My name is Zoe Tempest. Don’t let this blond-haired, blue-eyed Barbie Doll exterior fool you. I’m a vampire hunter. I have been ever since Dere, the king of bad-ass vamps murdered my parents and I went to live with my uncle, Julian Kilmer. Maybe you’ve heard of him. He’s a renowned paranormal metaphysical author. But in the world of the undead, he’s known and feared as a vampire slayer. Besides slaughtering my parents, Dere destroyed everyone that Uncle Julian ever loved. In doing so, Dere forged an unbreakable bond between my uncle and me. After I moved in with Uncle Julian, and learned to fight, I got my revenge and turned Dere’s butt to dust. At least, I think I did. Since Uncle Julian and I came to Vampire Bay on a vamp hunting expedition I’ve begun to wonder…

Chapter 1

Still as a shadow, I concentrated on the night. Extended branches, like bony fingers, reached out, outlined against the dark. A sharp wind whipped thin twigs that bent then sprang back. One cracked loud as a pistol shot. In the background, waves pounded a rocky shore with merciless intensity and flung gray plumes of water high in the air.

Over the harsh night sounds, I heard a snake-like hiss. The hair on my neck rose. My grip on my sword tightened.

“Zoe, look out!”

I pivoted on my heel in time to see Uncle’s gleaming saber swing wide.

“Eeeee!” The vampire shrieked just before her head flew off. The unearthly sound set my teeth on edge. Spider-like chills ran up my spine. The next moment the head, along with the separated body, burst into flame. The long black hair, on the skull, crackled and curled. Then it disintegrated with a ‘pop’. Phosphorus ash floated to the ground and left a sickly green glow in the dark.

A shriek of unleashed rage echoed through the night and turned my blood to ice.

I spun around and stared in disbelief. My body went cold. “What the—?” The vamp my uncle had just killed raced toward us. “How could she come back?” I could barely force the words past my stiff lips.

“It’s her twin, Zoe.” Uncle’s shout, broke my paralysis.

A woman with that same thick mane of black hair and scarlet lipstick slashed across her mouth—or maybe it was blood from a recent kill—soared forward in a blur of motion. “Murderers,” she screamed her fangs extended.

As she leaped for me, I thrust out my sword. The weight of contact vibrated in my hand as the blade buried in her heart. “Like you’ve never taken a life,” I snarled back.

She erupted in a ball of fire that lit the dark night then disappeared into a pile of ash.

Uncle pulled a plastic bag out of his coat pocket and sprinkled the area with salt to eliminate any chance of their survival.

My chest rose and fell as I drew in deep gulps of cold air. The misty tang of lake water, carried on the wind, lingered on my tongue. A dog bayed in the distance adding to the eeriness.

“I don’t know how many more are out here. Let’s get back to the house,” Uncle spoke in a low voice as he looked around.

We approached the renovated farmhouse Uncle Julian had rented in the heartland. I shivered in the cold. We were a heck of a long way from the moist, sultry heat of his home in the Bahamas.

Ropes of garlic, intertwined with dried flowers, hung in a festive array along the eaves of the veranda. Just as we stepped on the porch a bat swooped and fluttered in front of the garlic. As it started to fly away, Uncle leaped off the porch and into the air.

With a swing of his sword, he lopped off its head. Before the body could fall to the ground, it erupted in a fiery ball. Dust floated on the air and disappeared in the fallen leaves. Uncle again drew out his bag of salt and sprinkled the ground. Alert, I kept my hand on my sword, ready to cover him if needed.

A whoosh of wings alerted me as it flew toward Uncle’s back. I leaped off the porch, my sword hand high, and swung. The bat flapped its wings and rose straight up. I missed it by inches. His wings flapping, he lingered in the air. His eyes glowed. Our gazes clashed. I pulled out my silver cross, which I always wore around my neck, and pushed it upward in his direction. Not that it did any good from this distance, but it was my way of flipping the winged vermin the bird.

“Come on, Zoe.” Uncle nudged me. “We’re not going to get that one tonight.” We backed toward the porch our swords drawn. I took a quick glance around, turned and leaped onto the veranda. Uncle did the same. My breath went out in a whoosh and I relaxed. The encounter with the bat had been strange. It felt personal.

“Let’s go in.” Uncle Julian opened the unlocked door and we trooped inside.

“Maybe we should lock up when we go out at night,” I suggested. My long, black leather coat rustled as I shrugged out of it. The house felt warm and cozy, and smelt of the apple wood and pine we’d burnt earlier in the fireplace.

“Thieves I can deal with,” Uncle said dryly.

“Uncle Julian, there’s no being living or dead, you can’t deal with,” I laughed. Uncle is a Pranic, his power comes from energy drawn from others. I’m a Pranic-in-training.

A huge shadow crawled along the wall. I whirled around as Uncle came up behind me. “Don’t scare me like that.” I clutched my heart.

“What’s wrong with you, Zoe?” he asked irritably. “God, I need a cup of coffee.”

I shook my head and rubbed my arms. “There’s too much atmosphere in old houses, lingering souls I guess.” I shrugged.

“Do you think so?” Uncle frowned. His fingers made a light raspy sound against the thick short stubble that darkened the bottom half of his face as he stroked his chin.

“Or jet lag.” I laughed off my unease and looked at my watch. Five a.m. “How about that coffee?”

“Works for me.” His expression lightened.

We headed for the kitchen.

I flipped on the light switch and trotted to the coffeepot. A chair scraped as Uncle dragged it across the gleaming oak floor and sank into it.

Water gurgled and the aroma of roasted coffee beans filled the kitchen as I looked around. The Victorian monstrosity was over a hundred years old, but its insides had been completely gutted and renovated. The kitchen gleamed with modern appliances. The walls shone with glossy butter-yellow paint. The beautiful kitchen cabinets were an antique white with black and brown splotched granite countertops, all in all, a comfortable kitchen.

I poured Uncle a cup of the dark rich brew, loaded mine with whipped cream and sugar then joined him at the table.

“Thanks.” He leaned back in his chair and sipped his coffee.

I took a drink then closed my eyes in pleasure as the sugar and caffeine rolled down my throat and jump started my system.

I opened my eyes to see Uncle staring at me. His azure gaze probed. “Are you okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? We only fought two.”

“Are you bragging or complaining?” He took another sip of his coffee.

“Maybe both.” I grinned.

“You’re entitled. You did well tonight.”

I’d just raised my cup to my mouth and set it down hastily so I wouldn’t choke. Melted whipped cream sloshed over the side of the cup and onto my hand. I looked at him surprised and pleased. Compliments from Uncle are rare.

“What?” he demanded as I stared at him.

I shook my head and reached for a napkin to wipe my sticky hand.

“You’re tired,” he decided. He picked up a banana from a wicker fruit bowl on the table and tossed it at me. I managed to catch it before it plopped in my coffee. Then he picked up an apple. Juice squirted as he crunched down on it with strong white teeth.

“Can’t argue with that.” I peeled the banana. The yellow layers trailed on the table. “We just got in town today, unpacked and spent the night hunting.” I bit into the tropical fruit, that my girlfriends had a sexual name for, masticated then swallowed. “So what are we doing in an old Victorian farmhouse that sits in an isolated bay on Lake Springdale? The information you gave me was pretty sketchy. ‘Pack your things, Zoe were going to Springdale, Illinois. There’s been a vampire sighting’.” I tried but failed to mimic his low, cat-smooth voice.

Before he could answer my question, I asked another. “How did you get this house on such short notice? Lake front property is prime, especially when it’s isolated.” I lifted the cup to my mouth. At the gleam in his eye, I set it back down...again. At this rate my coffee would be cold before my second sip.

“What?” I demanded mistrusting that look.

“No one wants it because of the rumors.” He munched on his apple then took a deep drink of his coffee.

“And what rumors would that be?” I asked hollowly.

“It seems the house was once owned by a vampire.”

~ * ~

Available at:

Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Vampire-Bay-Hunter-Book-3-ebook/dp/B005BCODIM/ref=sr_1_25?ie=UTF8&qid=1439148371&sr=8-25&keywords=sandra+cox

Barnes and Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/vampire-bay-sandra-cox/1104562692?ean=9781477698518