Series: The Secret Archives Trilogy #2
Publication date: October 1st, 2020
Synopsis:
There is nowhere to hide when danger closes in from all sides.
Jennie left the security of her walled community to join Ethan in search of answers about his troubled past. Braving the threats lurking in the forest, their journey to Arborville leads to startling revelations... some that could prove fatal.
Back at the Commune, the delicate society Jennie's people have built is crumbling. The number of flesh-eating lemerons attacking their wall continues to grow, and two factions are vying for control of the tattered hierarchy of the community.
With both the Commune and Arborville at risk of destruction. It will take Jennie and all her friends to stand together and protect their communities. Failure will bring a swift and certain death to all the residents hunkered inside.
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Excerpt - Marlene
She sprung to her feet, drawing her sickle. Slashing the curved blade in front of her, she opened the lemeron's throat. Congealed brown blood splattered her face. She grimaced, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
Stepping on its corpse, she dashed through the chaos of battle. Ethan swung wildly, cutting down advancing creatures with his sword in one hand and dagger in another.
Marlene gave a nod of approval as she passed him. A blade in each hand was smart. He blinked, confused. There was no time to stop and explain. A lemeron snarled and lunged at Ethan. Brenden stabbed it through the side.
They were being overrun and still didn't notice the five other monsters running right for them.
She charged past the advancing group, slicing the head off one as she went by. It's head hit the ground with a wet thump. The other four stopped to face her.
These were people once. One still had the tattered remains of a dress hanging limply off boney shoulders. Its slack jaw tightening as it snarled and charged.
Marlene slashed at it, cutting its arms off. The lemeron didn't even notice. It continued attacking, brandishing dirty fingernails and blackened teeth.
As she reached back, preparing to strike a blow, another seized her from behind. The ragged breath it drew rattled in Marlene's ear.
Don't let it bite you!
She squirmed, pulling frantically away from its face as the lemeron opened its mouth.
"Not today," she yelled, twisting her arm free.
She rammed her elbow back, connecting to its jaw with a wet crack. The monster loosened its grip, giving her enough room to strike. Her blade stabbed the lemeron right through its open mouth. It's limbs went limp and crumpled to the ground.
She charged the one-armed lemeron in the tattered dress, aiming her sickle at its neck.
Marlene roared as she sliced its head clean off. It fell lifeless to the forest floor.
Two more to go.
They charged her at the same time. Marlene crouched. Extending her arm, she adjusted her grip on her sickle. Narrowing her eyes, she waited for them to get closer. When they were almost upon her, she sprung up, spinning in a circle. She felt resistance as her blade made contact two times.
She stopped, her back to the creatures. She glanced over her shoulders in time to see the two headless creatures collapse, dead.
Ethan and Brenden were still fighting off the remaining lemerons. Red blood streamed down the side of Brenden's face. Three of the monsters backed him against a tree as he tried to fight them off. Ethan was busy with two of his own.
Marlene's temper flared. No one - living or dead - threatened her family. She charged swinging wildly, cutting down anything in her path.
Letting out a shrill scream, she cut and slashed with her sickle. The blade cut air and lemeron flesh alike. It felt good. The sound of flesh ripping open was like music to her. Like the song always calling her. The one that was currently calling her back to the wall. She fought it for so long. It was so loud now, welcoming her to oblivion.
Valerie Puri is an author of Paranormal, Fantasy, and Young Adult.
As an author of both short stories and novels, she enjoys the flexibility of writing tales of any length. Her favorite aspect of writing is the ability to create something out of nothing. She loves building worlds readers can visualize and filling those worlds with complex characters and storylines. Valerie believes that the experiences we have in life are just stories waiting to be written.
In 2016, she published her debut novel, The Crimson Tree, a thrilling paranormal tale inspired by true events. The main source of inspiration for this story was a number of experiences her sister encountered in her home. She went on to publish The Dociles, book one of The Secret Archives Trilogy, her young adult dystopian series. Valerie's work can be found in anthologies such as Demonic Anthologies, Thrill of the Hunt, and We Know the Truth, Do You? Readers can look forward to future novels and short stories with paranormal and urban fantasy aspects in the near future, including a trilogy she is co-authoring in the Dark Projects world.
When she's not writing, she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, or listening to audio books. She is a Florida transplant, but part of her will always call the Midwest home.
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