Angels & Magic: A Bonus Collection Read online

  Angels & Magic: A Bonus Collection

  A.J. Flowers

  Joynell Schultz

  Zara Hoffman

  R.M. Gauthier

  Emily Martha Sorensen

  Amanda J Evans

  Carissa Andrews

  Contents

  Carissa Andrews

  The Final Five

  Emily Martha Sorensen

  To Prevent Pure Heroes

  R.M. Gauthier

  The Great Escape

  Amanda J Evans

  The Cursed Angels

  Zara Hoffman

  The Belgrave Legacy

  JOYNELL SCHULTZ

  One Possible Future

  A.J. Flowers

  Lucifer’s Fall

  Need More Angels?

  The Final Five

  Prologue

  Carissa Andrews

  1

  THE AWAKENING for me happened quickly. It also happened excruciatingly slow.

  After years of struggling, wondering what my purpose was—feeling like I was missing … something—everything suddenly became painfully clear. It was like the light switch had been flipped on and it was the cue I was waiting for.

  The human race is flawed—it has always been. Which is why we were all in need of being awakened, I suppose.

  We didn’t know it at the time, nor did we appreciate the gravity of it all. We were merely vessels lying in wait.

  It's funny how you can go your whole life questioning your worth, to suddenly find yourself not only with purpose, but on the precipice between good and evil. Or being the bridge between creation and destruction.

  I remember the first inklings, when in my mind, I began to realize I was different. The year was 1999—again, another precipice, I suppose.

  I was twenty-one and for the first time, I was awakening to my inner soul’s cries. I'd never felt fully comfortable with traditional organized religion, yet I still felt a spiritual calling. It was an ironic juxtaposition, to be sure. At least for a confused teen growing up in the heart of the United States.

  There was too much hypocrisy for my liking, and I couldn’t understand why so many people flocked to it. It was the camaraderie, I figured. Actually, there’s quite a bit of truth to that assessment.

  As part of my coursework for college, I'd found myself in a comparative religion class. Within the first day, I knew I'd learn more about humanity's spiritual similarities than I ever had in all my years in Catholic Sunday School. They were all, in one vein or another, cut from the same cloth—not vastly different and worthy of fighting over.

  Throughout the twelve week course, I studied everything from Christianity and it's variations, to Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Satanism, and even Wicca. There were many more, but they were merely touching points in a tapestry woven to share the same message—regardless of the name its followers prescribed to.

  I'd often look at the faces of those in the class, wondering if they felt the same profound shift I did. Their blank, often bored expressions told me they were more asleep than they were awake. In more ways than one.

  My soul blossomed from there and I dived into embracing a side of myself I hadn't realized was missing … my inner love of the Goddess. Wicca became my voice for the injustice I saw in the world—and the hypocrisy inherent in modern religion. Mostly, for the unfortunate way women were treated. But in the way it led to the rise of avarice, power-hungry men, and their desires to exploit women, children, the poor—just about anyone really.

  Yet, as much as I turned my back on any relationship I had held with the divine masculine, I knew I was out of balance. One could not exist without the other. Each energy needed each other in tandem—the way a child craves the attention of both parents. It was the way I craved the attention of the divine.

  While Wicca isn't Goddess worship, excavating her story stole my attention for a while. I learned as much as I could; swallowing all of history, mythologies, and stories I could manage. I needed to make up for lost time.

  I studied Buddhist teachings, meditation, and how the present moment is central to pulling yourself out of a world of lack, anguish, and pain.

  Later that same year, I had another awakening. It was the year The Matrix came out. While many look at the movie as a classic now, at the time, many people didn't get it. Seems odd now, perhaps. Especially as technology has changed and evolved. It’s easier to see the correlations now. But at the time, computers were just making their impressive nature known. There were no smartphones. Websites were rudimentary at best. We had to wait minutes to dial into the internet and if you were connected, no one could use the telephone. It was torture.

  Yet, the concepts provided by the movie bewildered many who couldn't grasp the psychological nuances technology could bring to humanity. I remember being so surprised that at twenty-one, I was having to explain to my elders why The Matrix was so profound. Why it resonated. What it even meant. Why it should be a warning, or a wake-up call. Or at the very least a great philosophical discussion for those wanting to dive down the rabbit hole.

  To this day, it still gives me goosebumps as I relate to the subconsciousness undertones and possibilities of an existence it offers. Because they were true.

  In 2001, after moving back to my tiny hometown, I found myself drawn to healing work. I don’t remember exactly what caught my attention, but I remember stumbling on a local Reiki group. I didn't know what it was, or why it was calling to me. But I answered the call regardless.

  I somehow found my way into the next session of training and over the course of the next five years, I ultimately became a Reiki Master. It wasn’t to teach the lessons of this study. Nor did I want to earn money by providing the service to others. I simply wanted the knowledge and experience of it. This hands on healing technique became my doorway into all things energy work. To viewing the world in a metaphysical sense. It unlocked my energy retention and what I could do with it. It also opened my eyes both literally and metaphysically.

  I’ve never looked back. Now, years later, who would have thought it was the foundation laid by the universal energy, or the divine, so I’d be ready for this moment. So we’d all be ready when the time comes.

  I’ve been placed on a mission to find the remaining protectors for our upcoming war. Some call them angels. Regardless, they’re the ones still with sleep and stardust in their eyes who need to know what their purpose really is. It’s their job to take over now, because no one else can do it.

  But before I can send them on their path, I’m being tested. I need to find them—but I don’t know how.

  One thing’s for sure—big changes are coming and if I don’t locate the final five soon, it will be the end of all we know.

  • To continue with The Final Five, check out the Angels & Magic Boxed Set. Available now!

  * * *

  • To continue with Diana’s story, look for Carissa’s next full length novel, Oracle. Available mid-2018.

  * * *

  • To continue with Morgan & Gabe’s story, look for Carissa’s full length novel, Awakening. Available late-2018.

  * * *

  • For other books by Carissa Andrews, visit her website: www.carissaandrews.com

  To Prevent Pure Heroes

  Emily Martha Sorensen

  1

  The security measures in this lair were over the top. Kendra scanned her hand, her retina, and then used one of the glinting golden bracelets on her wrist to identify herself.

  “Welcome, Seraph,” a nasally magical voice announced from below. It was coming from a synthesizer that a girl with blonde pigtails had just pushed a button on.

  Kendra made a mental note to kill her tea
mmate. That, or have a talk with her about just how necessary it was to put security precautions on this building, given that Chronos and Tiffany never left it, and Kendra could teleport in.

  Which was what she had done the last time, of course, and the time before that, because it was the obvious thing to do. But then Tiffany had started whining about how she’d gone to so much effort and nobody ever appreciated her and blah blah blah blah. So Kendra had teleported outside and walked in through the excessive machines this time.

  “Hi, oracle. Hey, Tiffany,” Kendra said, waving carelessly as she descended the stairs.

  “Welcome, Seraph,” the synthesizer said again.

  “Hello, Tiffany.”

  “Hi, Kendra!” Tiffany chirped. She moved away from the synthesizer and grabbed a length of twisted pipe from where it was lying against the wall. “You wanna see me fix the plumbing?”

  If that pipe was supposed to be part of the plumbing, Kendra was rather alarmed that it was not attached to anything or inside the wall. “Uh —”

  “FIX IT!” Tiffany cried, waving her wand above her head. Star-shaped sparkles surrounded the pipe and straightened it out. She had once been a magical girl, and she still had a few of her powers.

  “And how did you get the pipe out of the wall?” Kendra asked with rising trepidation.

  “This way,” Tiffany said eagerly. “BREAK IT!”

  She waved her wand, and an enormous hole exploded out of the wall. Sure enough, there was a great big section of pipe missing right there.

  “You’d better put it back before anyone uses the bathroom,” Kendra muttered.

  Tiffany giggled. “How did the defeat go?”

  “I hope you actually broke the team’s talismans this time,” a woman called from across the room.

  Kendra made a face at her boss. “Don’t nag me, soothsayer. Scions of Light is finished. I doubt even a ‘redefining the friendship’ moment could save them now.”

  “Oh? Then why do they still appear in our future as a possible threat?” the oracle asked archly, holding out her hands.

  “I don’t know,” Kendra said snidely. “Did you suddenly start being able to see your own future?”

  “Obviously by ‘our’ I meant ‘your.’ You must have overlooked something. Yet again.”

  Before Kendra could respond, a nasally magical voice declared, “Intruder alert! Intruder alert!”

  Kendra spun around to see Tiffany pushing buttons on her synthesizer.

  “Do you mind?!” she shouted.

  “But it’s true, Kendra!” Tiffany cried, holding up her wand, which was connected to the overly-complex security around the building. “My system says someone followed you here!”

  “Then say that, don’t run to push buttons on the synthesizer!”

  “But Sammy the Synthesizer gets lonely if I don’t let him make the announcements.”

  “Would one of you check to see who’s invading our privacy instead of squabbling with each other?” Chronos asked sourly. “If one of those magical girls followed Kendra here —”

  “Followed . . .?” Kendra shook her head. “That’s impossible. I broke all five talismans.”

  “Five?” Chronos said with alarm. She leapt up from her chair. “They added a new teammate last week, you fool! You should have defeated six of them!”

  CRASH!

  A magical girl smashed through the ceiling, slamming down into the plotting room table and splitting it in half. She landed on the floor in an impressive pose.

  “HALT, EVIL FIENDS!”

  Chronos twitched. Tiffany squealed and clapped her hands. Kendra sighed.

  “Your reign of terror is over!” the magical girl declared. “I, Amber Starlight, will defeat you on behalf of my five new best friends!”

  “I knew it. It’s the one with following-people powers,” Chronos said.

  Tiffany looked up and screamed, “She broke through my brand-new defenses!”

  “Good riddance, if they don’t even work,” Kendra muttered.

  “Freddiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeee!”

  “If you’d bothered to look at Tiffany’s surveillance feeds,” Chronos said testily, “you might have noticed the existence of an extra teammate —”

  “She wasn’t in Tiff’s surveillance feeds!”

  “Don’t worry, Freddie, I’ll repair you . . .” Tiffany sniffled from above, climbing up a ladder to reach a row of magical cannons.

  The magical girl was still posing in the same position she’d landed in. “Um . . . why aren’t you guys attacking? Bad guys always attack first!”

  Chronos stared at the girl, and then gestured. “Seraph . . . humor her.”

  “Gladly!” Kendra said with a grin, summoning her spiked halo. She had once been a magical girl named Cream Angel, but now she was a villain who sometimes enjoyed it. Taking out a lame magical girl who didn’t even know how to start a fight was one of those times.

  “Starlight Supernova!” the magical girl cried in relief, thrusting her wand in the air.

  Kendra dodged to the side, and all three energy blasts missed her.

  Above them, Tiffany had scrambled up to the top of the ladder to reach her damaged freeze cannon. “UP!” she commanded her wand, which appeared in her hand. “FIX IT!”

  “Starlight Supernova!”

  Kendra ducked.

  “Are you feeling better, Freddie?” Tiffany asked, hugging the thing.

  “You can’t dodge forever!” the magical girl declared. “Starlight Super—”

  2

  Kendra flung her spiked halo forward. It whooshed straight to Amber Starlight, sliced her wand straight through the middle, and the top of it tumbled to the ground.

  The magical girl stared at her broken talisman in horror.

  “Freeze Cannon . . . ACTIVATE!” Tiffany yelled from above.

  Ice roared through the room, and Amber Starlight was now coated in a solid block. So was the lower half of Kendra.

  “Great aim, Tiffany,” she said flatly.

  Tiffany slid down from Freddie the Freeze Cannon. “Whoops! Hee hee!”

  “Huh . . .” Chronos picked up the two halves of the focus item, which were lying on the ground. The halves swooped back together. “She has a self-healing power. That explains why she didn’t detransform when you broke her focus item. The talisman’s not really broken.”

  “Terrific,” Kendra said. “So what do we do now? She followed us here, which means she knows where we live. I’m not wild about a magical girl knowing how to find us.”

  “I wasn’t wild about that, either,” Chronos said, for some reason giving Kendra a narrow-eyed glare. “Yet, here we are.”

  Was she still sour about Kendra having followed her around for days to badger her into starting this villain team? Honestly.

  “We could un-break Brian and brainwash her,” Tiffany said hopefully.

  “No, we could not. Kendra, can you still erase short-term memories?”

  “Like I could in Wings of Justice?” Kendra looked up from chipping herself free from the ice with her spiky halo. “Sorry. You know I lost all my magic when I betrayed the team.”

  “We don’t know that for certain. You could try, just in case —”

  “No.”

  “What should I do with our intruder, then?” Tiffany asked. Her widened with sparkly hope. “Can I take her to . . . the dungeon?”

  Chronos looked intensely weary. “If you must.”

  “YES!” Tiffany squealed.

  “But Tiffany . . .”

  “Hmm?”

  “No tickle-torture this time.”

  “Awwwww . . .”

  Kendra chipped the last of the ice off her boots, rolling her eyes.

  Courtney woke up with a splitting headache in an unfamiliar room. “Where . . .”

  After a few seconds, she sat up and saw she was behind the bars of a cell.

  “Where am I?” she asked in rising panic.

  “You’re in the deep, dark dungeons of our v
illain lair!” a little girl villain declared. “Are you scaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaard?”

  Courtney burst into tears. “YESSSSSSSSSS!”

  The little girl jerked back in alarm. “You’re not supposed to be that scared!”

  “You’re villains!” Courtney sobbed. “You’re going to hurt me!”

  “Well, of course we’re villains,” the little girl said matter-of-factly. “But we’re not going to hurt you. Understand?”

  Sniff. “Yes . . .”

  The little girl grinned and opened her mouth to talk.

  “You’re gonna brainwash me!!!” Courtney howled.

  The little girl looked dejected. “No, no . . . Brian the Brainwasher’s been broken for years.”

  “So . . .” Kendra flopped into a chair and plopped her feet up on the broken table. “See anything interesting?”

  Chronos closed her eyes and put her hands on either side of her head. Futures . . . futures . . . futures . . .

  There were an awful lot of them.

  Amber Starlight trapped in their dungeon until she died.

  Amber Starlight fighting some sort of villain.

  Amber Starlight powering up into a new magical girl form called Amber Starburst.

  Amber Starlight as a brainwashed villain known as Amber Moonlight.

  Amber Starlight defeated by evil.

  Amber Starlight dead.

  Chronos opened her eyes. “I . . . I don’t know. She’s so confused, I can see at least six possible futures. And those are only the ones I’m not involved in at all, because I can’t . . .”

  “. . . see your own future, yada yada,” Kendra said, spinning the spiked halo around her finger. “Let’s try recruitment, then. We could always use another teammate, and her power to follow people could be useful.”