The League of Skull & Bones
Book 1 of The Grimm Chronicles
BY
MJ FLETCHER
Date Published: 10/15/2013
New Adult Paranormal / Steampunk
Jess Grimm has the ability to travel to any dimension in the multiverse. There’s only one problem… it’s killing her.
Jess is in a race against time to find a device that can slow the
progression of the power inside her, but she isn’t alone. Others want
her power, and they don’t care how they get it, or if she is dead or
alive when they do.
The only person willing to help her is the mysterious Ronan Sparrow a
member of the League of Skull & Bones, one of the very groups that
want her power. But what does Ronan want in return? Can Jess trust him
or will she find herself alone with enemies on all sides?
The League of Skull & Bones, Book 1 of The Grimm Chronicles
Prologue
I wasn’t alone in the dark.
Snarls and growls surrounded me, running my blood cold. I moved
my head from side to side, scrunching my eyes, trying desperately to catch
sight of the beasts before they reached me. My crimson swords weighed so heavily
in my hands that I felt as if I’d been fighting for what seemed like eternity.
Claws and fangs suddenly slashed out from the darkness and I did
my best to defend myself, though in my heart I knew it was a losing battle. The
beasts were overpowering me and soon I wouldn’t be able to stop them. No one
was coming to save me. I was alone.
Talons slashed across my back and warm blood trickled down as
pain shot across my spine. I stumbled and the beasts—I was sure—tasted victory.
They moved in at me in waves. I spun my blades trying to battle the
never-ending tide, trying to survive.
It was hopeless. For every monster I took down, another two took
its place. I wanted to live, I wanted to fight, but the agonizing pain of my
flesh being torn and sliced was too great to bear. I couldn’t go on. The jaws
of one of the beasts clamped on my wrist, and I lost my grip on one of my
swords. It fell from my hand and clattered to the ground and with it went my
last vestige of hope.
Blood drained from my body and my vision faded. I would
soon black out, and then the beasts would feast on me. A scream bubbled in my
throat and my mouth fell open, but no sounds came out. I closed my eyes, not
wanting to see my own death and hoped that darkness would take me before the
beasts did.
I bolted out of bed, my mouth still open in a silent scream, and
my sheets tangled around me soaked with sweat. I stood at the foot of my bed,
my breathing coming in ragged gasps.
The nightmares came almost every night. I couldn’t escape them
no matter how hard I tried. I yanked at the sheets, dragging them off me and
tossing them back onto the bed.
I’d worn only an old t-shirt to bed, though now I wished I had
worn more. I didn’t want to see my scars, didn’t want to be reminded yet again,
but I couldn’t stop my fingers from tracing over the ugly scars that marked my
arms and upper torso.
I walked from the top floor of my loft, down the stainless steel
steps to the kitchen area. I yanked open the fridge and grabbed the container
of milk and took a gulp. I placed it back in the fridge and slammed the door
closed. I slipped down onto the couch that faced the large windows dotting the
walls of my loft and sighed at the breathtaking view of Paris. It always
calmed me.
My fingers mindlessly drifted over the scars on my arms. They
were a reminder of the very real night I had been trapped in a nearly
unwinnable fight. Monsters had surrounded me and had almost killed me. If it
hadn’t been for my friends, I would have died.
But I hadn’t died, or had I? I was far from the girl I had once
been. Once I was the prettiest girl in school, and the girl who had hit every
club and had had a blast when she had moved to Paris. But after the
vicious attack everything had changed, most of all me.
My fingers suddenly stopped, settling on the edges of identical
tattoos on both my forearms. I glanced down at the image of a Skeleton Key. My
scars refused to cross paths with the tattoos, as if they knew that they dared
not go near them.
I slid my finger over the tattoo, and felt a buzz of power run
through me. These unwanted tattoos were another reminder of something else
entirely. But unlike my scar, I had chosen these.
The monsters may not have gotten me, but these tattoos were a
different matter. They marked me for death.
I pulled my knees up into my chest and took a deep breath. Maybe
I would wait here until dawn. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about any more
nightmares or death that constantly stalked me.
I sat alone in the dark looking out on the City of Lights,
awaiting the dawn and praying that I could keep death at bay and that I
wouldn’t hear the sound of monsters.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
M.J. Fletcher
M.J. Fletcher
MJ Fletcher was
born in New Jersey and now lives by the beach with his beautiful wife
and daughter. He has been writing since he first stapled pages together
as a child and called them a book. He finally realized his ambitions
when his comic book series Adam Zero The
Last Man of Earth was published by Ronin Studios. His other comic book
work includes Digital Webbing Presents and The Hero Initiative. His
first novel The Doorknob Society released in 2012 was nominated for a
Cybil award in the young adult category. He has continued writing the
Doorknob Society Saga his rollicking steampunk adventure series as well
as working on numerous other writing projects.
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