Haunted - Spiritus Series Book Two
Alastor came at me
then, forcing me back against the wall. He was so solid that I could feel his
weight against me. I
could feel his frozen breath on my face….He ran his hand up my arm, over
my shoulder, and rested
at the base of my throat. His blue eyes glittered dangerously.
With the publication of
Spiritus, Dana Michelle Burnett created ghostly romance in a small town.
Now, in her new novel,
she brings us again - even more magically - into the midst of the haunted
love story she
introduced in Spiritus, of the solitary and beautiful Becca McAllister and
Alastor,
the darkly captivating
ghost whom she loves and killed over a century ago.
Becca has already
decided that it’s Alastor that she loves, but now, as their uncommon
relationship limits
Becca’s future, Alastor must decide if he’s willing to make the ultimate
sacrifice for Becca’s
happiness….
Dana Michelle Burnett
spent most of her life writing short stories and sharing them with family
and
friends. Over the years, her work was published in numerous commercial and
literary magazines including Just Labs, Mindprints: A Literary Journal, Foliate
Oak, and many more. Her short story John Lennon and the Chicken Holocaust was
included in The Best of Foliate Oak in 2006.
In 2010, Burnett’s
first novel, Ghost Country, was released. Based on her own Cherokee heritage,
the novel marked her return to the literary world after a four year hiatus. She
followed that with the release of her romance novel, Two Out of Three in the
summer of 2011.
Spiritus is the first
novel in her new paranormal romance series by the same name. The second book,
Haunted, is now available.
Excerpt
I clutched his hand as
we moved along toward Magnolia Bridge. Still yards away, I could
hear the drums as well
as feel them vibrating somewhere deep inside the middle of my body. As
the bridge came into
view, the beat of the drums took over the air and shook the ground beneath
my feet.
The crowd kept moving
closer and closer to the old wood and metal bridge. As I stepped
up on the first
creaking wooden plank, I saw eerie drawings of symbols and words in glowing
white chalk scratched
on its surface.
The air was thick with
humidity and noise, too loud to even breathe. It all began to spin,
the drums, the wooden
planks covered in glowing drawings, and the sickening sweet smell of so
many bodies pushed
together.
I felt myself
staggering, everything going hazy and then coming back to quickly, like a
record played at the
wrong speed. Before I could recover, I was spinning and the drums became
loud booms that shook
the ground and far off there was a baby crying.
It wasn't safe here. I
had to get away. They were going to find us. They were going to get
"Jonah," I
pleaded, "I've got to get out of here."
He didn’t hear me. I
was clutching at his arm, but he was lost in the sea of bodies. At last,
I clasped his hand and
jerked him around to face me.
"Now!" I
demanded. "I want to go now!"
Jonah was reluctant to
leave, but the expression on my face must've convinced him
because he guided me
through the crowd without complaint.
As we stepped off the
bridge, a beautiful woman with deep olive skin stepped into our
path. She seemed to
glow in her long white dress and white head wrap. There was something
pulsating on her
shoulders. It took a moment for my eyes to focus enough to see that it was a
large snake that
slithered about her neck.
"I see that which
you want most," she declared, pulling the snake’s head up to hers so
that it's forked tongue
could flicker across her lips.
I stepped around her,
cringing away from the serpent.
The woman laughed,
showing a wide mouth of bright white teeth, "He can come back,
you know."
The air left my lungs
and I stopped short. I couldn't have heard her right. I dropped
Jonah's hand and turned
around slowly.
"What did you
say?" I asked.
She stepped over to me,
swaying her hips so that her dress swung like a bell.
"I can bring him
back," She whispered as she came within inches of my face. "I know
that is the thing that
you want most."
There was a surge of
air swirling around me and over my head. The woman's eyes
focused on it with a
knowing smile.
"He will be
angry," She said and took a card out of the waistband of her dress.
"Come
and see me when you
can."
I clutched the card in
my hand as Jonah led me away. I looked back and watched the
woman disappear in the
darkening crowd.
Jonah pulled me along,
oblivious to the exchange. Once we were safe in a taxi and
heading back to the
hotel, Jonah put his arm around me and kissed me on my cheek.
"You'll feel
better after a long soak in the tub and a little rest." He whispered hot
and wet
in my ear.
I don't remember saying
anything. I just remember the feeling of the card’s sharp edges
in my palm. Nothing
else in the world mattered except that card.
Late that night, I
slipped from the bed were Jonah still lay sleeping. I dressed and went
down to the Carousel
Bar. Again, the card that I was turning over and over in my fingers held
my attention.
MADAME MARIE
DESMARAIS’S SHOP OF VOODOO
Royal Street
New Orleans, LA
Could it really be
possible? Could Alastor actually come back?
I glanced around at the
other patrons of the bar reflected in the many lights and mirrors
throughout the room.
Were they aware of such possibilities? If so, how could they just sit there
and drink the night
away?
I sipped at my
hurricane cocktail and enjoyed the tingling burn as it went down my
throat. I tapped the
edge of the card on the table one, two, three times.
The bartender sat
another cocktail in front of me. I was already lightheaded, but I took it
anyway.
What was I supposed to
do now? Could I bring Alastor back and lose Jonah forever?
Would I ever be happy
with Jonah if I knew there was even the smallest chance that Alastor
could come back?
It was just too impossible
to sort out. It was easier to just keep drinking and pretend like I
didn't already know the
answer.
Two more drinks later
and I barely recognized Jonah when he took a seat at the bar
beside me.
"Why aren’t you
upstairs?" He asked, taking the drink from me and pushing it away.
I rubbed my hands over
my face, "I couldn't sleep."
"Is anything
wrong?"
I looked down at the
card on the bar and then covered it with my hands.
"Not really,"
I said. "Just restless, I guess."
Jonah leaned over and
kissed my cheek. He brushed his lips over my ear, "Why don't you
come back
upstairs?"
I slid off the
barstool, struggling to stand on unsteady feet. Jonah's arm went around my
waist to steady me.
As I reached back to
get the stiff white card from the bar, I saw Alastor’s face reflected in
the mirrors surrounding
the bar. He glared at me with angry blue eyes as I took the card and slid
it into my pocket. I
silently dared him to try to stop me.
I glanced back at
Alastor's image as I stepped into the elevator with Jonah. He glared at
me with hostile eyes
until the elevator doors closed and it was just me and my new husband
alone in the elevator.
I leaned back and let
out a sigh.
Alastor’s secret voice
reverberated in my brain, "Becca, throw the card away, no good
will come of it."
I can't do that.
"What you’re
thinking is impossible," He argued. “I wish it could be different, but it
cannot.”
You don't know that.
"Yes, I do and
you're not being fair to Jonah."
I glanced over at
Jonah. He leaned against the wall, watching the floor numbers change
as we went up. He felt
me watching him and turned and gave me one of his brilliant smiles.
"I love you."
He said simply and looked back up at the numbers.
How could he be so
trusting? That familiar stab of guilt hit me in the gut.
"I love you
too." I answered.
But I love him more…
Alastor swirled near
me, whispering inside my head. "I'm telling you that what you want
is impossible."
I can't give up while
there is even the slightest chance for you.
"Becca, you have
to see that this is a lost cause."
I can't believe that.
"You have to
believe it or else you will drive yourself mad."
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