Author: Joni Parker
Publisher: Village Green Press LLC
Pages: 452
Genre: Urban Fantasy
In this
second installment of The Admiralty Archives, the warrior Lady Alexin, the
Keeper of the Keys for the Elf realm of Eledon, finds herself exiled to the
harsh world of near-future London. Rendered little more than a political pawn by the Elfin
Council of Elders to avoid a war with the Rock Elves, she has little choice but
to struggle to find her way in this strange new land. Taken under the
protection of kindly mentors, Vice Admiral Malcolm Teller of the British Royal
Navy and his wife, Alex brings all her skills to the fore as she uncovers a
series of deadly plots.
Murder
is on everyone's mind as an underground White Supremacist organization takes
aim at Admiral Teller while two wizards, resurrected from death, must kill Alex
in order to survive. To make matters worse, the Rock Elves dispatch a hundred
assassins from Eledon with their sole mission to bring Lady Alexin to the very…
Edge of Death.
Pick up your copy at Amazon → https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X43MSQG
Excerpt:
Chapter 1: Edge of Death
Alex had never felt so alone in her entire life. She stared
blankly out the window of the limousine she shared with Admiral Teller and his
staff. Her eyes focused on her reflection as a tear escaped down her cheek. She
swiped it away. It wasn’t that she didn’t feel grateful for their help and
support, but her heart ached—she wanted to go home…to Eledon…to her Elf
grandparents…to her job as the Keeper of the Keys…not to London.
Alex’s mortal father had died when
she was four and she’d been raised by mortals until she turned fifteen. She
thought she’d have a better understanding of life here on Earth, but she
didn’t. She even missed the snooty Council of Elders and the grumpy Chamber
Elf. Helping those mortals had been the worst decision she’d ever made. Over
seven hundred sailors on five ships had been stranded in Eledon and she’d
returned them safely. She brushed away another tear and looked around. Good,
no one’s looking at me. She turned back to the window.
An unusual sound caught her attention and she gazed out the
sunroof of the black limousine. It was a helicopter. Or a chopper. A
helo—whatever they called it. Alex leaned her head back and sighed. What was it doing here? It wasn’t part
of the motorcade. Over the past few weeks, she’d seen a lot of them flying in
and out of Portsmouth’s Royal Naval
Base in southern England.
The Royal Marines had told her about them. This one hovered way too close. The
pilots smiled and waved at her, so she waved back. Friendly, she thought, at
first. But why were they wearing sunglasses on a cloudy day? Her instincts told
her something wasn’t right. Who were
these men? Assassins? Why were they waving at me? The hairs on the back of
her neck rose as she thought of the worst-case scenario. The helo was going to
attack them.
She nudged Leftenant Nelson of the
British Royal Navy—the red-haired, fair-skinned man raised his chin, but his
eyes remained fixed on the screen of his mobile. He played a video game to pass
the time.
“Wait.” The
young officer pushed the buttons with his thumbs and stared intensely at the
small screen. The car crashed and the game ended. “Damn it!” He shook his fist
and gritted his teeth. “I can’t get past this level. What in the bloody hell do
you want?” He pulled his ear buds out and turned sharply; his eyes narrowed—his
anger still prevailing.
“Sorry, but
why is that helicopter flying so low?” Alex pointed up. She had learned one
thing about the mortal world—it could be dangerous here.
“It’s just
a traffic helicopter, looking for accidents on the highway.”
“So why are
those men wearing sunglasses? It’s cloudy out.”
“They’re
pilots—they think it makes them look cool.” He waved his hand dismissively and
went back to his game.
“Good.”
Alex felt relieved. Her instincts were wrong. No need to worry. This was normal. Since that night she was supposed to return home to Eledon, but
couldn’t, she wasn’t quite sure what was normal and what wasn’t here in
the mortal world. She relived the scene, repeating in her head on an endless
loop and clenched her jaw. Lord Fissure of the Rock Elves had threatened to
kill her grandfather if she tried to return home—and the sneer on his face told
her that he’d won.
Sitting across from her was Vice
Admiral Sir Malcolm Teller. He was a kind man, but he was a mortal…and a
target. She’d already foiled three assassination attempts on him. He was
targeted by a white supremacist group called the 23rd Infantry, just
because he was a black man. It didn’t make sense to her. Over the past few
weeks, he’d also become her mentor and benefactor and promised to help her find
a way home. But how? He didn’t know
anything about the Elf world. Were there
more entry points somewhere? Even she didn’t know—she was stranded. No, exiled.
Next to him on a laptop computer
was Captain Jonas, a brilliant naval officer and the Admiral’s chief of staff,
who always looked at her with suspicion. Was
there any way to convince him I wasn’t a scout for an alien invasion? She
doubted it. He was a stubborn man.
Over the past few weeks, the
Admiral had taken charge of the return of the sailors, the ships, and the
civilians who’d been stranded in Eledon, while she’d made friends with Captain
Shauna O’Leary, Royal Marines. Alex worked out with the Marines on a daily
basis and learned a lot about the mortal world from them. This morning,
however, she was notified the Admiral had completed his task and would be
leaving for London in an hour. She
would have liked more time—she barely had a chance to say farewell to Shauna.
But she packed quickly and got to the limousine before anyone else.
Alex had no clue what to do next,
but she felt an urgent need to get back to Eledon to protect her grandfather
from those Rock Elves, especially Lord Fissure. Until she figured out how, the
Admiral had offered to let her stay with him and his wife. Without any other
option, she agreed.
Her best hope of getting home was
to find Ecstasy, the wizard. He’d brought her to the mortal world in the first
place, but even Detective Inspector Tyler of Scotland Yard couldn’t find him.
So, how could she?
* * *
Leftenant Nelson tapped her arm. “Hey, Alex. I didn’t mean
to snap at you like that. You didn’t know about the traffic helo. Sorry.”
“It’s all
right. Sorry, I bothered you.” Alex wasn’t really sorry, but thought it was the
polite thing to say. He’d always been pleasant to her. The chopper rose higher
over the vehicle, pacing the limo’s speed on the highway. Its body was made of
glass and metal with pods on either side. Alex stared at it curiously and went
back to her thoughts.
Without
warning, the limo veered off the main highway and exited onto a two-lane
country road. Alex grabbed hold of a handle to her left and sat up straight, alert
for trouble. Her eyes widened and her pulse quickened as her head swiveled
around, looking for the source of the problem.
“What’s
going on, Jonas?” Admiral Teller dropped the newspaper onto his lap and looked
over to the Captain.
“I’ll find
out, Admiral.” He pressed a button near his head. “Petty Officer Thomas, where
are we going?”
“Following the security car in
front, Captain. It’ll take us around an accident ahead.”
Captain Jonas glanced at the
traffic on the highway. It wasn’t slowing down and his phone didn’t have any
reported accidents. “Thomas, there aren’t any accidents reported. Call the
security car and get them back on the highway. We have an appointment at the
Ministry this morning.”
“Yes, Captain.”
Yet, the limo continued along the empty
country road.
Thomas reported back. “Captain, no
reply from the security car.”
The Captain grew alarmed; this
wasn’t supposed to happen. He checked his phone again, still no accidents. He
craned his neck to look at the traffic, flowing smoothly on the highway.
The sound of the chopper drew
closer. Alex looked out the sunroof—the pilots grinned. This time, not in a
friendly way. Alarm bells went off in her head.
“I thought the chopper was supposed
to watch traffic on the highway.” Alex looked to Nelson, who was also peering
out the sunroof; his jaw tight and his eyes focused on the chopper.
“I don’t like this.” Captain Jonas
pressed the button. “Thomas, get us out of here!” His eyes narrowed.
“I can’t, sir. We’re boxed in.”
“Leftenant, send out a distress
message immediately!”
Nelson’s thumbs flew over the
screen of his mobile phone, sending out a text message.
Alex felt helpless and she could
tell the men didn’t know what to do either. She turned in her seat to see the
driver’s face in the rearview mirror. His eyes were so wide she could see white
around his pupils as he clutched the steering wheel.
Captain Jonas slammed his laptop
shut and pushed the intercom. “Thomas, take evasive action. Turn left up
ahead.” He turned to his right. “Fasten your seat belt, Admiral. Leftenant,
call for help again.”
The Admiral put on his seatbelt and
Alex tightened hers. The Leftenant sent out another message over his phone.
Thomas slammed on the brakes and turned the limo to the left. The long vehicle
barely made the sharp turn and skidded sideways before it straightened. Then he
stepped on the gas. All at once, he jammed on the brakes and nearly ran into
the chopper as it hovered low over the road.
Alex broke into a sweat. How are we going to get out of this? She
looked to the Admiral, who looked at the Captain. No one had any answers.
“Turn right!” The Captain pointed
to a smaller road.
Thomas quickly turned the limo down
a road which became a dirt path leading into a pasture where black and white
cows munched on grass. The limo broke through a barbed wire fence and drove
into the field. Alex gripped the handle as she bounced in the seat. Oh, my stars!
“Damn it! Turn around! Get us out
of here!” The Captain’s eyes grew large as the chopper followed behind. “Did you
send the message, Nelson?” He pulled the Admiral away from the window as Nelson
frantically texted another distress message.
“Jonas, this car is armored. We’re
safer in here than out there.” The Admiral pointed out the window.
“Thomas, get us out of here!” Jonas
waved his hand forward.
“I can’t, sir! I’ve lost control!”
The steering wheel spun wildly under his hands as the limo fishtailed across
the grass.
Alex rocked to the right as the
chopper’s nose tilted down. “It’s aiming at us!” She pointed out the back
window. The Marines had told her about helos, firing rockets and shooting guns,
but that was in a war zone, not in the English countryside.
Two white streams of churning smoke
fired from the pods on the chopper, exploding just behind the vehicle, kicking
up mounds of dirt, and lifting the rear end. Gunfire strafed the back window,
shattering the glass but remaining intact.
Alex covered her face as the limo
sped through the field, barely missing a cow. Seconds later, the limo ran into
a stone wall and came to an abrupt stop. The airbags deployed and everyone sat
stunned for a few seconds.
“The chopper’s coming around for
another crack at us, Captain.” Leftenant Nelson grabbed the door handle. “Let’s
get out of here!” He scrambled out the door, followed by the rest, jumping
behind a stone wall in front of a stand of trees.
Just as they ducked behind the
wall, the chopper sent two more rockets at the car, which exploded at the rear.
Then it opened fire with machine guns. In spite of the armor plating and
bulletproof glass, the limo was severely damaged—it hissed and steamed.
Alex hunkered down next to Nelson
as bullets pounded against the wall. She’d never felt anything so powerful and
wondered if the wall was strong enough to protect them. It brought back
memories of when she’d been shot, but somehow, she didn’t remember it this way.
Her recent training with the Marines had involved simulated bullets; this
wasn’t the same. Her panic rose. She couldn’t move. Her breathing grew shallow;
sweat dripped off her face. She felt if she was on the edge of death, about to
go over. The men were just as scared as she was.
Her courage was buoyed by a short
lull in the action; she peeked around the wall and saw the chopper back up to
maneuver for another round. I have to do
something.
“Is there a weak point on the
chopper?” Alex asked.
“The rotor on top.” The Captain
pointed up.
As the chopper flew forward, Alex
aimed the palms of her hands at the rotor. “Break!” she shouted. An intense
beam of blue light shot from her hands, knocking the rotor off. The blades
struck the ground, sending dirt and shrapnel in all directions while the cabin
tumbled across the field and exploded.
“What in the bloody hell was that?”
Captain Jonas stared at her—his eyes wide.
“My blue light.” She grinned at
him.
“My God!” The Captain glared at
her. “Don’t do that again!”
Why
was he so surprised? The Captain had seen her use it before when she’d
healed some people. She pressed her lips together in frustration.
“Wicked.” Nelson glanced at her and
nodded, raising an eyebrow.
Wow,
that’s weird. He can raise one eyebrow at a time. At least, Alex thought it
was unusual. She’d never seen…
“Stay down!” Captain Jonas pushed
the Admiral’s head behind the wall as he detected movement to the left. The two
fake security vehicles had arrived on scene. Out of one car, two men in black
ran at them on the left—they were scouts, leading the attack.
“Men on the left.” She nodded to
Leftenant Nelson.
“More on the right.” The Leftenant
grimaced. “We’re screwed.”
“I’ll use my blue light again.”
Alex was about to raise her hands.
“No!” The Captain glared at her.
“Don’t use that thing. It’s unnatural.”
“So are guns. We can’t just sit
here and do nothing.” Then, she had another idea.
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