Welcome to
New
Adult Scavenger Hunt! This bi-annual event was inspired as a way to give
readers a chance to gain access to exclusive bonus material from their favorite
authors and a chance to win some awesome prizes! During this hunt, you not only
get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue for the
hunt. Add up the clues, and you can enter for our prize–one lucky winner will
receive one book from each author! But play fast: this contest (and all the
exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 96 hours!
If you’d like to find out more about the hunt, see links to
all the authors participating, and see the full list of prizes up for grabs, go
to the
New Adult Scavenger Hunt
page.
***THE SCAVENGER HUNT***
Directions: Below, you’ll notice that I’ve listed my lucky
book number. Collect the lucky book numbers of all the authors, and then add
them up (don’t worry, you can use a calculator!).
Entry Form: Once you’ve added up all the numbers, make sure
you fill out the form
here
to officially qualify for the grand prize. Only entries that have the correct
number will qualify.
Rules: Open internationally, anyone below the age of 18
should have a parent or guardian’s permission to enter. To be eligible for the
grand prize, you must submit the completed
entry form by June
30th, at noon Eastern Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without
contact information will not be considered.
LET THE HUNT BEGIN!
Author Links:
Blurb:
Few have seen The BlackGuard Society, yet they’re all around. When rogue paranormals threaten mankind, the BGS alone is our last line of defense.
The latest case for agents Morgan Vladislav and Ace Broussard is a monster hungry for mayhem…and pretty redheads. But when Morgan kills the suspected perpetrator, she inadvertently unleashes a brand of chaos these seasoned BGS agents have never seen.
Focus is critical, but fate has other plans. Ghosts from Morgan’s past are coming back to haunt her, and these apparitions have claws that can tear the life she’s built to shreds.
With time running out, can the team rally to stop the rising darkness? Or will the vicious storm of war wipe New Orleans’ French Quarter off the map?
Exclusive Content from Blood Vendetta:
A bolt of bright-blue lurched from my hand, and I aimed it
at Tavi. She, however, was just as quick. My energy bounced off an invisible
shield.
“You’ll have to do
better than that,” Tavi shouted.
The evil witch waved her hands, and shapes rose from the
pavement and grass. She gave malfeasance life in the form of a reptile. It
wriggled toward us like a snake. Its mouth unhinged and rows of razor-sharp
teeth reached out. As it closed the distance, arms and legs sprouted. Instead
of fingers, it had tentacles.
I glanced over at Colby. Whatever Tavi had done to him had
worn off. He was on his feet, crouched in a fighting stance. A sickle-shaped
knife was in one of his hands and a ball of
magenta energy bounced in the other.
Seeing the weapon distracted me, but something cold and wet
wrapped around my ankle and snagged my attention. Whatever the beast was, it
yanked me off my feet.
“Colby!” I tapped the
com in my ear as I went down. “Gabe, send backup!”
“On it.”
As the creature dragged me over the ground, I rolled and
kicked it in the face. Instead of hurting it, the grip on my ankle tightened.
Time to stop playing nice. I aimed a bolt for its chest.
Smoke poured from the gaping wound, and the tentacle loosened.
The creature howled. Its eyes bulged, and then its head rolled across the
concrete. Blood spurted from the stump.
Colby, dark crimson dripping from his blade, helped me to my
feet. “You okay?”
“I’m—” Before I could
get the words out of my mouth, more of those hideous creatures appeared.
“Take this, Mom.” My
son tossed me his weapon before materializing a second one.
Tavi’s cackle filled the
air as Colby and I sliced and diced the wicked spawn. For every one we took
down, two more appeared. Even with Mother enhancing my powers, it wasn’t
enough. No mattered how hard we fought, it was a losing battle. Then I noticed
that the creatures moved more like zombies, shuffling on an undetermined route.
I dropped my weapon.
“Colby, stop
fighting,” I instructed.
“No, Mom. We can do
this!”
“Watch and learn,” I
said as a white-eyed demon crept by. It didn’t even glance in my direction as
it slithered pass.
Slowly, Colby lowered his blade. The monsters and other
demons stopped attacking us. They ignored us, crossed the street, and
disappeared into the Quarter. Not good, but we’d
deal with that problem later if the pack didn’t handle it first. Stopping Tavi
and closing the portal were the priorities.
Flames erupted behind the Merciers. The scorching heat was
so intense I could feel it from where I stood as the portal grew wider. Screams
of tortured souls and demons wanting freedom poured from the opening.
I was so focused on the gateway, I missed what else was
happening. An errant bolt of red shot out and latched onto my wrist, burning
it. “Owww!”
“I thought you liked
the heat!” yelled Bishop.
My stomach twisted. I wanted to run. A scream of my own
caught in my throat. In order for the trap to work, I had to remain quiet. Let
Tavi and Bishop think the fight had left me weakened.
Mother worked her magic from the edge of the portal. My
doppelgänger’s image flickered in and out
before solidifying just inside the gateway. It was up to me to make it
believable.
Throwing my voice, I enabled my clone to speak. “Tavi!”
The witch and her son both turned toward the fake as Colby
hid the real me behind shadows.
“If you want me,
bitch, come get me!” My double waved at them.
Tavi inched forward. “Too
easy! If you wanted to fight, you’d do it in this realm.”
“Suit yourself!”
I held out my hand and curled my fingers, manipulating my
doppelgänger like a puppet master. Tavi moved
toward the portal, but I couldn’t see her face from where I stood. Bishop
grabbed her elbow, trying to keep her from moving into the void.
“What the fuck?” he
said.
Tightening my grasp, I lifted my hand and yanked Tavi off
her feet. She kicked and jerked before falling into the portal. Bishop’s gaze darted around the park.
“Dad’s looking for a
source,” Colby mumbled. “I’ve got this.”
My son raised his arms overhead.
“Think twice about
that,” Bishop yelled as he grabbed someone. It was Mother. He had his hands
wrapped around her neck. “If I go through the Veil, so does she.”
“Noooo!” I stepped
out of the shadows.
“Just what I thought.
Fucking double!” Bishop dragged Mother closer to the opening. Claws pierced
through and reached for her. “Give up, Morgan. You can’t save her and go after
me.”
Automatically, I moved toward them. No way would I let
Mother slip into Hell. Instead of having faith, I started running. Colby was
faster. He cut me off. My son knocked Bishop off his feet, and they flew
through the opening. The impact shunted Mother to one side.
My mouth hung open. I tried to look past the portal’s flames and see my son. I dropped to my knees as someone
moved beside me.
“Morgan.” It was
Edwina. “Where’s Colby?”
Swallowing hard, I pointed toward the fountain. “He’s on the other side.”
I thought seeing my son fall through the Veil was as bad as
it would get. Seeing the flames dancing higher as they inched closer together
changed that course of thinking. The portal was shutting with Colby on the
other side.
Edwina squeezed my shoulder, knowing there was nothing that
could be done. I’d lost. Big time.
Before it completely shut, two figures moved through. One of
them thrust a hand forward, and the other stumbled backward. I wiped my eyes
and blinked several times. Could it be?
No time to dwell on that. Tavi was trying to escape. She
stuck her head through one more time. Wrong move. A magenta light glowed. Her scream
filled the air as the gateway between worlds became smaller. The doors to the
portal slammed, and Tavi’s head rolled toward
us with her eyes and mouth wide open. The ground shook like a signal, ending
the feud.
Then I noticed
another figure moving toward us. As it got closer, I saw that it was my son.
Somehow he survived. In his arms was Mother. But behind them darkness moved, and
a tendril reached out.
“Colby!”
He pointed a finger. A magenta bolt raced across the space
and zapped the shadow. It disintegrated on impact.
Edwina and I rushed over to them.
“What happened?”
Mother, slightly dazed, asked as my son set her on the ground.
Before I could
answer, there was a clap of thunder and a bright light flashed at a distance. A rank smell
filtered past my nose as the air sizzled with sorcery. When we looked up,
Gannon stood before us.
“You will regret what
you’ve done,” he announced, stalking across the pavement. Inky figures leapt
off him like tiny black flames.
© 2019. Avanturine Press, LLC.
-------------
To enter, you need to
know that my lucky book number is 2.
Add up all the lucky numbers of the authors and you’ll have
the secret code to enter for the grand prize!
***CONTINUE THE HUNT***
To keep going on your quest for the hunt, you need to check
out the next author,
Pat Esden!
GOOD LUCK!!