The Fire Within (The Fire of The Soul Series)
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Authors: Racquel Kechagias
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THE FIRE WITHIN
BOOK 1 of THE FIRE OF THE SOUL
TRILOGY
By Racquel Kechagias
Copyright
(c) 2012-2017 by Racquel Kechagias
Cover
Design by Nadica Boskovska
Edited
by Shyuen Hwong
This
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product
of the author's imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously. All statements,
activities, stunts, descriptions, information and material of any kind
contained herein are included for entertainment purposes only and should not be
relied on for accuracy or replicated as they may result in injury.
Copyright
Notes.
All
contents copyright (C)2012 by Racquel Kechagias. All rights reserved. No part
of this document or the related files may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise).
Ebook
1st Edition, License Notes.
This
Ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This Ebook may not be
re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book
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author.
This
book is dedicated to all who have ever had a dream and to those who have dared
to follow it; this is my dream.
Other
Works
By
RACQUEL
KECHAGIAS
The
Fire of the Soul Series
Book
1 – The Fire Within
The
Deity’s Secrets Series
Book
1 – Miss Underworld
Novellas
Captive
of Magic
Acknowledgments
First and foremost I
would like to thank all of my readers at Bookrix and Booksie, without you guys
I would have never continued this story and thus I would not be here now.
I would like to thank
my family for all the support that you have given me and to my friends
Christina, Aaron, Emma and Joshua for keeping me grounded whilst I wrote; to
you guys I am indebted.
I would like to give a
special shout-out to my editor Shyuen Hwong, rough drafts are often messy so I
would like to thank you for all the cleaning that you've done!
I would also like to
thank the lovely Cover Artist Nadica Boskovska who made the wonderful cover of
this book. Nadica I look forward to working with you in the future.
I would also like to
give a shout-out to the many friends that I have met in the past four years, my
friendship with you will always be cherished.
Last but not least, I
would like to thank you, the reader, for joining me on this wild ride. It is
you guys that make all of this worth doing.
Chapter 2 – The
Threats of Life
Chapter 8 –
Admissions and Memories
Chapter 11 – Time
is Running Out
Chapter 12 –
Doubts and Farewells
Chapter 16 –
Antadovian Secrets
Chapter 17 –
Behind Enemy Lines
Chapter 19 – Our
Darkest Secrets
Chapter 20 –
Nightmares Resurface
Chapter 21 –
Discretion of the Heart
Chapter 22 – The
Serpent is Revealed
Unknown P.O.V
There is no moonlight
shining down upon the empty valley, though my sight is not hindered by this
matter. I can see perfectly clearly the slope of the valley, how perfectly bow
shaped it is. I can see the wild summer flowers that litter the valley, and the
man squatting in the middle of it, his scavenged meal coming from places that I
do not want to begin to think about.
The man is filthy; his
beady eyes scan the area around him in search of me, although I can guarantee
that he would not be able to see me until I am right there before him.
Now that I can see who
this man is clearly, in his tattered clothing, I regret what I have done. Who’s
to say that this kingdom - much similar to the ancient Babylon - would be
better ruled under the hand of this man, to the one that I had just slaughtered
in cold blood. I could still taste the old king's blood upon my lips, the royal
blood tasting no better than that of a commoner; or even that of a street rat,
similar to the one squatting in the field.
The village I have just
passed through is filled with bars and gentleman's entertainment. These kinds
of entertainment are made to be hidden in the night, for they tainted the soul
in ways one can not begin to understand. Talking of souls, I think back to the
fallen immortal hidden within my castle walls, about the power that he has -
unwillingly - placed within me.
My attention turns back
to the squatting man as I approach him. He looks as if he has been living in
the gutters for a long time. It is disgusting, how low this man has settled
with his life. Of course, all human life holds no difference to me, sure they
had different skins and different upbringings but what little differences there
is between them, do not compare to the differences of the people of the
Underworld.
There are so many like
this man in this village, all of them rotting away, like living corpses. The
physical filth is not the only thing that is making them rot, however it is
also the mental and emotional turmoil of living in a city like Babylon that is
truly making them rot at the core.
I am now towering above
the man. His beady eyes look up to me, his face covered in dirt and filth. He
smiles, that of a man who has not hope but confidence in his future. He knows
that I would not have failed on my end of the bargain, but now it is my time to
collect on his half of the bargain.
"It has been done.
The King and Queen are dead and the kingdom has forgotten their reign. You are
now able to step up and take the throne that you long for," I sneer,
uninterested in what this beady, filthy man could want from his King's and
Queen's death. What loyalty he has to ask for someone like me - a Vampire - to
kill the royalty that he should humbly serve. "Within your castle awaits
the treasure that I promised you, a wife also awaits. She is ready to serve and
please you in anyway that she can."
The filthy man rises to
his feet, standing up to his full height. His height does not surpass mine, I
am just tall enough to look down upon him, my eyes tightening as I register how
close he is standing to me.
"Now that you have
what you want, I have come to collect what I want." At my words the filthy
man steps back his arms up in the air. He is trembling at the thought.
"Please, don't do
this. You do not need to do this, I'll give you whatever you want, just
please!" the filthy man pleads. It's disgusting really, that he fails to
even keep his word, the very last thing he owns in this state.
"You cannot begin
to understand what I need and want." I can hear the whimsical, longing
note in my own tone. There is no way that this man, or anyone for that matter,
could begin to understand what I want. I want my parents back, but I need
someone who'll love me always and never leave me. I needed a wife, whether it
takes a day or a decade.
I cannot allow the man
to escape so I get down upon him, and pin him to the ground using my own
weight. His beady eyes are watching me, and I look down into them. This is part
of what the immortal told me must be done. The immortal said that the eyes are
windows to the soul, and for a soul transfusion that eye contact must be
constant during the process. With our eyes connected, I can feel the tearing of
my soul. Only a single slither is to be passed onto the man pinned underneath
me, but no matter how small the slither, the tearing of the soul is the most
painful thing that one could ever feel.
"With my end of
the bargain kept, yours is now about to be done. My soul does not belong to
thee, but your first daughter it will live in she. Until her seventeenth year,
she'll be kept within the castle. On her seventeenth birthday when you must
choose a suitor for her, your choice will be me. Your daughter belongs to me
mortal, if you place her in the wrong man's hands, everything you build up to
that moment will be destroyed, and you will be returned to this state. This is
what I promise you, and I pray to God you keep to this truth, for I shall not
spare you," I say and when I stop I know that it has been done. I feel as
if a piece of me is missing, and this I realize, must be how it feels to have a
piece of your soul missing. I get to my feet and I begin to walk away,
continuing in the opposite way of which I had come.
"Wait, you're
leaving?" the man says, still crouching on the ground in disbelief. I stop
for a moment and turn my head just slightly, so that he can see my face, now
that the moon has reappeared.
"Yes, but I will
be back one day Rupert, to claim what is rightfully mine." I say and I
continue to walk on. There is no place for me here, but home is where I belong,
and home is where I will go. The Underworld is the only place for me, where I
will be welcomed back with the regal celebrations that are only meant for a
King of my standard. My thoughts as I make my way home, is not what has just
happened or what was done by my hand earlier that night, but the daughter that
is to be born to that man. I pray to whatever god that would listen to a
Vampire that she would not only be beautiful but noble and kind of heart. God,
I hope these years go by fast.
Four Years Later
Rupert's P.O.V