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2020
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Publié par
Date de parution
31 mars 2020
Nombre de lectures
0
EAN13
9781645364528
Langue
English
Poids de l'ouvrage
1 Mo
Publié par
Date de parution
31 mars 2020
Nombre de lectures
0
EAN13
9781645364528
Langue
English
Poids de l'ouvrage
1 Mo
From Here to Eternity
Love’s Warrior - Book One
P. C. Stevens
Austin Macauley Publishers
2020-03-31
From Here to Eternity About the Author Dedication Copyright Information © Acknowledgment Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One Chapter Twenty-Two Chapter Twenty-Three Chapter Twenty-Four Chapter Twenty-Five Chapter Twenty-Six Chapter Twenty-Seven Chapter Twenty-Eight Chapter Twenty-Nine Chapter Thirty Chapter Thirty-One Chapter Thirty-Two Chapter Thirty-Three Chapter Thirty-Four Chapter Thirty-Five Chapter Thirty-Six Chapter Thirty-Seven Chapter Thirty-Eight Chapter Thirty-Nine Epilogue Glossary
About the Author
P. C. Stevens discovered her love for writing through her love of reading. She credits her favorite authors for inspiring her to write and share her own stories. She is a wife and mother living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In addition to writing, she enjoys reading, exercising, keeping up with current events, and spending time with her family.
Dedication
Dedicated to my family, Kiki, Frodo, and Mini Me.
Copyright Information ©
P. C. Stevens (2020)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.
Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Ordering Information:
Quantity sales: special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.
Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data
Stevens, P. C.
From Here to Eternity
ISBN 9781641826020 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781641826037 (Hardback)
ISBN 9781645364528 (ePub e-book)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019907759
www.austinmacauley.com/us
First Published (2020)
Austin Macauley Publishers LLC
40 Wall Street, 28th Floor
New York, NY 10005
USA
mail-usa@austinmacauley.com
+1 (646) 5125767
Acknowledgment
I’d like to thank my husband for believing in me, my parents for ensuring my well-being and life success, and my son for behaving so well during the writing and publishing process.
Chapter One
“What the fuck’s going on?” Honor said throwing up her hands, her face twisted in disgust.
Dia shook her head, unsure what to say. She and Honor had been watching their favorite reality show, “Monsters & Mayhem” when a snow screen and beeping noises replaced the monstrous mayhem.
Dia chewed her fingernails, slowly realizing she’d heard those noises before, but never for real-life emergencies.
“This is not a test,” the television said in a calm female voice. “What?” Honor said, her hands still suspended. She shook her head and Dia laughed despite herself.
She wasn’t sure how long she and Honor listened to Ms. Calm and Collected deliver her spiel when the salt-and-pepper screen switched to the most beautifully strange creature sitting at a news desk, no one else in sight.
With a gasp, Honor clapped a hand over her mouth and bolted to her feet. “What the fuck is that?”
“Humans,” the being said, “your time here on Earth is about to change in ways you won’t believe until you see it for yourselves.”
Dia couldn’t be certain whether she was looking at a male or female, and the creature’s voice, which her ears soaked up in ecstasy with its ethereal candor, didn’t help.
Long locks descended from the being’s head, but it wasn’t hair, per se. The silvery strands seemed alive as they twisted and floated around a face of the palest skin imaginable. It wasn’t sickly pale, but comely pale, the shimmery alabaster only accentuating the rest of its unfathomable elegance. Dia itched to touch its glowing flesh. Would it feel as beautiful as it looked?
Honor was under no such spell, breaking Dia’s trance as she stomped to the nearest window.
Dia forced her gaze from the creature to her best friend and roomie. “Anything going on out there?”
She pressed a hand to the glass. “I don’t see anything.”
She returned and sat next to Dia. The two threaded arms. “I’m scared,” said Honor.
According to the mesmerizing creature, its kind would begin ruling humans that day.
Despite the period of darkness that followed, there was hope to be had. In the midst of the anarchy, one woman had the power to change history for both humankind and the Pirmas.
This is the story of Caradia Blaine, and how the arrival of the Pirmas marked the beginning of a life she never knew existed.
Chapter Two
“Dia! Holy shit! They’re here!” Honor flung the door to Dia’s room open.
Stomach joggling, Dia looked up from her book. Ever since the Pirmas had arrived she’d tried to forget about their callous plans. With no television or Internet, she’d dove into the impressive library she’d collected over the years, but even her most cherished books by her favorite authors hadn’t achieved diddly at distracting her. “Are you sure?”
“Oh, I’m sure,” Honor replied, practically breathless. She was more excited than Dia had ever seen her. Considering she had no idea whether she’d live to see tomorrow, her joy seemed a tad misplaced. Honor was convinced she was going to be Chosen.
The Pirmas had explained that there would be a chosen few, namely the Chosen, who they’d bring over to their world. Humans who weren’t Chosen faced instant execution, while the Chosen themselves would receive answers to questions on the mind of every human.
Where did the Pirmas come from?
What was their master plan?
Did their arrival mark the beginning of the Apocalypse?
Were they God?
Did they create humans?
The Chosen would also serve a certain purpose, a promise so vague Dia got the willies thinking about it. And Chosen or not, there was no escape. At the moment, a female with abnormally pale eyes stood outside the door of their condo. No one could leave while she was around. She’d arrived hours after the wondrous creature appeared on television. Though she looked human, she’d demonstrated otherwise by tossing one of their neighbors over the balcony without moving a muscle. Messing with her was asking for death.
Dia wasn’t sure if she’d rather die or be Chosen. But unless she wanted to kill herself before they arrived, she was forced to fear both outcomes.
As far as she knew, everyone she cared about still lived, which mattered greatly regarding her own will to live.
“Aren’t you going to get dressed?” Honor asked, wrinkling her nose. “You know, at least make yourself presentable?”
In answer, Dia burst out laughing.
Her roommate put her hand on her hip. “What’s so funny?”
She took a moment to study her friend, who looked phenomenal, but Dia didn’t believe the Pirmas would be impressed. Honor’s long reddish-brown hair was done up in a high ponytail. A shiny blue halter-top left much of her backside bare and stopped just above her hips, and from there she wore tight dark blue jeans that hugged her curves in all the right places. Her lips were painted blood red, a color that went nicely with the rest of her outfit. She looked ready for a night out, not for an encounter with murderous otherworldly beings.
Dia wanted to ask why she bothered prettying herself up for what could be her funeral, but quelled the urge. If Honor had hope, she’d not rip it away.
“Forget it,” Dia answered. “And no, I’m not going to make myself ‘presentable.’” She used her fingers to quote the word Honor had used. “I have nothing to prove to these… things! Fuck ’em.”
Honor rolled her eyes and exited the bedroom. Fresh nervousness settled in Dia’s gut as her gaze flew to the window a couple feet away. She bit her lip. Did she dare look out? Deciding whether or not to peer out the window had become a cruel game of dark anticipation during recent days. Who would come for them and what would they look like? Besides the pale-eyed telekinetic guard, she’d only seen one of the Pirmas’ many species; the ones playing news anchor with silvery, flyaway hair, and perfectly round, multi-colored eyes framed with lashes as long as human fingers. Their noses were pert, as were their mouths, and their teeth gleamed silver like their hair, sharp alternated with blunt.
Inching closer to the window, she reached out to draw the shades when something crashed through the glass. Dia barely got her hand out of the way in time. She screamed and made a beeline for the door; which Honor had left open. She was almost there when the door slammed shut by itself. Still screaming, she grabbed the knob. It turned, but wouldn’t open.
An eagle! Had it been an eagle? A hawk, maybe… A very very very large eagle or hawk…
But her gut said that even though she’d glimpsed wings, or at the very least feathers, on whatever was in the room with her, it was no bird.
“No! Please. No, no, no!” Dia banged her hand against the door and turned the knob to no avail. Fear gripped her in its angry fist. She couldn’t turn around, too terrified to face what was behind her, what had locked her in there with it. Intrusive thoughts bombarded her with images of monsters she’d seen in movies.
Pazuzu from The Exorcist , the Crypt Keeper from Tales From The Crypt , James Cameron’s Aliens ( pl