Read Heroes of Falledge Book One: Black Hellebore Online
Authors: Nicole Zoltack
Nicholas held her left hand, Julianna her right. "I want you to be happy just being you. I was always happier when I was with you."
Justina smiled. "I love you, Nick. I'll always love you. You too, sis." She took their hands and brought them together so Nicholas was holding Julianna's. "And I know you two love each other, too. Go on. Go home."
"What about you?" Nicholas asked.
"Don't worry about me. I'll always be here, waiting for you both."
"All alone?" Julianna asked.
"Don't worry so much. You're getting frown lines. Go."
Justina's light grew overpowering until Nicholas had to look away from her. He closed his eyes, still holding Julianna's hand. The sensation of falling overcame him, and he jolted.
He opened his eyes. At first, he didn't know where he was, but something heavy lay on his chest.
Julianna.
He wrapped an arm around her, and she jerked away from him with a gasp of pain. "My back," she whispered, rubbing it with her free hand, as he still held onto the other.
"What happened?" he demanded.
Heels clacked against the floor as Gavina approached the bed. "You tell me."
"Julianna, Justina..." He shook his head. There was too much to explain and no outsider could comprehend it all.
Julianna continued to rub her back. He moved her hand away and took over. After a moment, she relaxed against his touch.
"You're wounded," he murmured.
"You're fine?" she asked.
He winked. "I'm better than fine, you know that."
"Oh, brother, I'm out." Gavina left the room.
Gently applying pressure, he pulled Julianna to him and kissed her. At first, a quick peck, but it grew more heated and passionate.
She leaned back, and he groaned. "I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted."
He scooted over, and she lay beside him. They fell asleep within minutes.
*****
It didn't take long for Falledge to recover from the events of Skull Krusher. Funerals were held, memorials built, speeches given, a new mayor elected -- good old Ginny. Instead of building a new mayor's house, she allocated the funds to homes that desperately needed some improvement, only keeping very little for her own modest house.
One day, Nicholas showed up at the police station during lunch, a usual occurrence nowadays. He handed Julianna a pizza box -- she had finally remembered to give him the coupons the owner Mark Hamson had given her.
"Mmm." Enjoying her bite, she closed her eyes. At a thud, she opened them to see the book Nicholas dropped on the desk. She picked it up. "You're studying for your GED?"
He swallowed what looked to be a huge bite. "Stop smiling. Your face looks like it's going to snap in half."
"I'm proud of you."
"I have to move forward. I have to move on. I know it sounds silly, but--" he tapped the book, "it's a step
she
can't ever take."
She knew what he meant. This was the closest they had gotten to talking about what had happened. Nothing needed to be said about it.
Julianna sipped some green tea. Her mom had been trying to get her to drink it for years, but she had never listened until a few days ago. Now she couldn't stop. She sipped again and changed the subject. "You know, the construction's going to be done soon."
"Tomorrow's the last day."
"How would you like a job as a bodyguard?"
He sat up straighter and puffed out his chest.
She leaned over and wiped sauce from the corner of his mouth with her finger. Before she could lick it off, he put her finger in his mouth.
Oh.
She swallowed hard and looked away, trying to remember what she had been talking about.
"Who needs to be protected?" he asked in a husky tone.
Julianna smiled. "Not me. Not a person. An artifact. The museum is acquiring an ancient Egyptian find on loan for a month. It's rare and priceless and may well be the target of thieves."
He sighed. "Doesn't sound like a job for the Black Hellebore."
"It's for plain ole Nicholas Adams. You up for it?"
"You bet." He gave her a lopsided grin, and she knew she was asking for trouble having him in her life.
Maybe trouble was exactly what she needed.
Epilogue
The next night, after giving his new plant opening speech and all the laboratory workers had left for the day, Hunter Walter sat in the headquarters of the new laboratory. The smell of fresh paint gave him a headache, but he wasn't about to leave any time soon. He had been up late last night, going over all of the drug reports and studies, and finally found a breakthrough. The problem with Dr. Richards' bone cancer drug was simple -- it simply didn't work. At least, not for Dr. Richards' intended purpose.
The drug reacted wildly to the various degrees of bone cancer. Cancer itself was a nasty, unpredictable villain. With each new victim, the course it took could be radically different from another's.
How did the drug react to normal bones? Alan Richards had not bothered to run any tests on that, having been too concerned with curing bone cancer. Was it possible to inject the drug into unaffected parts of the body?
Other studies suggested it was possible for bone to be forged elsewhere in the body, to replace bones riddled with cancer. However, it had don't yet been done, to Hunter's knowledge.
Unbeknownst to others in the laboratory, Hunter had his own reasons for wanting to cure bone cancer. He knew well the time required for proper testing -- decades, or even longer. Medicine and science moved slowly, too slowly.
Hunter was normally a patient man. All scientists are, by nature. Now that he was in charge, he felt pressure all around him. If he failed, if one small mishap occurred on his watch, the vultures would swoop in and attack, ready to strip away his newfound position of power.
To compound matters, he had less time than he thought. He glared at the scans on top of his expensive, custom-built desk.
Time was the enemy. He had to act and act now. He didn't have a choice.
He fiddled with the syringe in his hand. After a deep breath in, he jammed it into his left arm, just below his shoulder. It pinched and burned for a second, then nothing.
Hunter hurried to the bathroom. He removed his shirt and inspected his arm, not expecting to see a change yet.
But change there was.
A slight bump already appeared at the injection site. Firm to the touch. Hard. Bone hard.
Sudden agonizing pain filled him, and he sank to his knees. He could feel the bump grow and grow. The pain increased at the same rate. Within minutes, another arm had formed, his shoulder now doubled. Unlike Lewis, his new arm wasn't merely bone, but muscles and fiber and tissue and blood and skin.
Hunter had never been a good dancer -- had been told on several occasions he had two left feet.
Now he had two left arms.
As waves of nausea and blurred vision threatened unconsciousness, Hunter's mind began to churn with all kinds of new and alien thoughts, including the desire for more limbs. And more power.
Heroes Of Falledge Book Two: White Hellebore
Coming April 2014
About Nicole Zoltack
Nicole Zoltack loves to write in many genres, especially fantasy or paranormal romance. When she's not writing about knights, superheroes, talking unicorns, or zombies, she loves to spend time with her loving husband and three energetic young boys. She enjoys riding horses (pretending they're unicorns, of course!) and going to the PA Renaissance Faire, dressed in garb. She'll also read anything she can get her hands on. To learn more about Nicole and her writing, visit http://NicoleZoltack.com or http://NicoleZoltack.blogspot.com.
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