Twisted Dream, Dead Moon: "You will be consumed"

In the majestic mountains of Asheville, North Carolina, where fantasy and reality collide. Where myths and tall tales are brought into a different light. A young woman, Isla Michelle Van Burren still living at home waiting for life to begin, is faced with a decision of extraordinary circumstances. A night out with her girlfriends brings her face to face with an intriguingly spellbinding man. He introduces himself as Bill, the owner of a dark, obscure night club. She's very quickly drawn to him. However, she soon discovers there is an unfathomable explanation to his mysterious insight into who she is. Out of curiosity, she engages in a tarot card reading. One card warns: You could lose your soul but gain so much more in return. These cryptic words puzzle Isla. She is entranced by a phenomenal and overwhelming urge to give herself to Bill in every way. He yearns to have her, but he can't decipher if his desire is of passion or thirst.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Twisted Dream, Dead MoonBy Chelsea RaineiUniverse, Inc.Copyright © 2010 CHELSEA RAINEAll right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4502-1835-1ContentsChapter 1: Night Out................................1Chapter 2: A Trip...................................20Chapter 3: Just Another Day.........................31Chapter 4: Anticipation.............................37Chapter 5: The Outcome..............................45Chapter 6: The Castle Party.........................53Chapter 7: Darkness Over Me.........................68Chapter 8: Desperation..............................86Chapter 9: So Deeply................................96Chapter X: Take Me In The Sky.......................109Chapter 11: Captured In A Dream.....................122Chapter 12: In Heaven With You......................134Chapter 13: You Took My Heart.......................159Chapter 14: The Fight Back..........................173Chapter 15: My Awakening............................189Chapter 16: My Returned Heart.......................212Chapter 17: Dream Dragon............................231Chapter 18: Don't Leave Me Now......................244Chapter 19: Come Back to Me.........................261Chapter 20: Tears Kept Falling......................278Epilogue............................................302Book 2 Islathon Chapter 1...........................321Acknowledgements....................................349Chapter OneNight Out I WAS IN AND OUT OF CONSCIOUSNESS, listening to the birds through my closed window whistling and singing their morning praise to the sun. I said a prayer and wished for an escape from the stagnant slumber my life had become. It was a month and then some, before my twenty-first birthday. The question that was repeatedly running through my mind was whether or not I would ever find love and if so what price would I pay for it. And would I really want it when I finally found it? Or was I going to be alone forever? This was probably going to be just another birthday. Having never really felt love, in that way, I dreamt and pined for a yearning of the sensation and wondered if it would ever come, my way. I pulled a pillow over my head and buried my face in the fluffy mattress. I was startled awake when the light came on and my mom yelled, "Time to get up sleepy head. This is your last summer before you go off to college." As she threw open my dark red satin curtains and let the sun shine right in my eyeballs. I squinted, moaned and blocked the light by rolling over the other way. What she meant was, it had been three summers since I graduated high school. I went to beauty school, but that was not good enough for them. They wanted me to go to a real college. Have the real college experience. "Funny. I can't decide where I want to go," I sighed lackadaisically as I peaked over the edge of my blanket to see her reaction. Her expression showed she was disgruntled at my words. I didn't care I was tired and could stay in bed forever. "Mom, I want to sleep some more, please," I begged, pulling the blanket up over my head and curling up in a little ball. "You're a bum," she murmured, under her breath. I yelled, "I am not!" ( How dare she, I am the farthest thing from lazy.) I thought as I came up out of the covers and threw a pillow at her as she walked out the door and slammed it behind her. I shrugged her scolding and went somewhere else in my mind. I lounged around a little bit longer, then the sun hit my eyes again and nearly blinded me. So I got up and staggered to the bathroom. I did what I had to do and shut the door behind me on my way back to my bedroom. I turned the TV on, sat on my bed and did my face. I watched an old movie for a minute or two, then decided to channel surf. Nothing good was on and I didn't feel like watching anything I had seen before. My heart skipped a beat when I heard a clicking sound. Then I saw my phone vibrating on the bedside table and relaxed. Reaching for it I nearly fell off the bed. My bed was extra high off the floor. If I had fallen, it would've hurt. "Hey Lizzy," I answered . "Lets go out tonight. I want to go to Jaggers," her voice was anxious and excited. "Sure, sounds like a plan. I don't want to go there, though. The people that hang out there are lazy, and they don't dance." Of course, she wanted to go to Jaggers. I really didn't like that place, but needed a night out. Even though I had never been there, I was aware of it's bizarre reputation. "I'll see you at 8:00," I agreed. She wanted to drive because she didn't drink so I was happy to oblige her. Although, I didn't either. Well at least not legally, yet. After getting off the phone, I piddled, worked on a poem, and listened to some music until about 6:30. After a relaxing bath I got dressed in my little black dress, styled my hair and went downstairs. "I'm going out with Lizzy," I said as I got to the bottom of the steps and entered the kitchen. "I am so glad to see you're still hanging out with Lizzy, she is such a sweet girl," my mother said softly as she came into the room.. "Where are y'all going tonight?" she asked in a parenting tone. "We're going to the Loft." I know, I lied, but she did not like Jaggers. Like mother, like daughter. She always said the people that hung out there were all dark and mean. I had heard nothing but bad things about Jaggers. The news had reported a girl missing from there a few years back. She was about the same age as me. It had stirred up quite a disturbance in the community. I didn't remember hearing if they had ever found her. Becoming a recluse at that time, wasn't my idea. But I didn't mind. I enjoyed being alone in my room. I was sitting on the couch chatting with mom when Lizzy's horn interrupted our conversation. I stood in front of the mirror by the door reapplying my lipstick. I had eaten a snack and it had worn off. I took a deep breath and told myself this would be a night to remember. "Bye mom, see you around 1:30," I called out as I walked out the door. My eyes were clenched tight waiting for a negative response from her as I held the brass knob in my hand and slowly pulled the door to. She said nothing. I shook my head in disbelief and thought maybe I should have said 2:00 instead. Walking up to Lizzy's smoky black car I jumped in and gave her a hug. We were really close. I didn't have any siblings, so she was the closest thing I had to a sister. We were soul sisters. "Hey girl, can we get something to eat before we go to Jaggers?" I asked as I placed my purse on the floorboard. "Sure," she agreed then pushed down on the accelerator and we drove down the dim lit night road. "How have you been?" I asked. "Good. Things have been really crazy lately. I went on a date last night," she announced, leaning over to see what station the radio was on and then turning down the volume so we could talk. "With who?" I asked as I looked at my nails, trying to scrape off some scratch ticket residue from a lottery ticket I had purchased the day before. Although I had wondered how it attached to my nail in the first place, since I had used a coin. "Jordan Blair," she answered hesitantly, staring ahead without looking at my expression. Which was that of surprise. "I thought you weren't interested in him," I replied, flabbergasted to hear his name since he had hurt her, literally. They had been involved in a car accident. Neither one of them knew the other existed until the wreck. They were both very lucky to have walked away with minor bruises and contusions. Lizzy went through some physical therapy for her back. But she recovered and hardly has a pain unless there was a storm coming. I called her the weather girl because she let me know when to run for cover. "He's sweet and funny, and we have a great time together. He keeps me in stitches with his sense of humor. My gut always hurts from laughing afterwards," she explained. Her eyes lit up when she talked about him. "I thought you were still in love with Jeff?" I declared, confused, but happy for her. Not like I wanted her to be with Jeff. I wanted her to find someone who would treat her with respect. Anybody that did that, had my approval. "Jeff is a good guy, but he wouldn't commit and I wasn't going to have sloppy seconds," she stated with a grin as she glanced my way and then back at the road. We both giggled. "Where do you want to eat?" she asked, changing the subject. "I don't care. We can drive through McDonalds if you want." McDonalds was just up a head, which was the reason I suggested it. Plus it was fast and they had good fries. And I knew my time of fried foods, well, at least fried fast food, was short lived. I couldn't eat that way forever. We drove through. She ordered a burger and fries. I ordered the same. We got our food and sat in the parking lot and ate. My burger wasn't that good, but I was hungry so I ate it. After we scarfed down our food we made our way to Jaggers. When we got there, I recognized some faces, but saw nobody I wanted to talk to. There were some girls I remembered from a party years back, standing at the bar. But they had been so snooty to me and some of my friends I didn't give them the time of day. They acknowledged me and then put their noses back in the air. "Aren't we meeting Micha here?" I asked as we sat down in a dimly-lit booth. The tables were empty all around us. In fact there were very few patrons in the restaurant at all. Mostly it was populated by the staff. All the furniture was made of dark wood. The chairs were padded in a deep red velvet and had an elegant design up the back. There was a crystal clear candle holder with a lit candle on every table. The bar was black and dark wood with tall black and silver bar stools. Behind the bar the walls were mirrored with Jaggers in black print across it. The bottles of liquor were lined on shelves in front of the mirror with a slew of white lights under and behind them making the bottles glow. The place was so hazy it looked as if a cloud had lightly touched down. "She should be here soon. When I text her she said she had to get gas and then she would be on her way," Lizzy answered staring at her phone, texting someone. Lizzy always had the phone in her hand. The phone had become an attachment to her arm. About five minutes later Micha walked in and came over. She gave us both hugs. Micha was a really good person, and she had been through a lot. She was going through a bad breakup, and didn't know what she wanted. So a girl's night out was exactly what she needed. She had dark eyes and dark hair, really pretty and sweet too. Lizzy was just as beautiful, she had dark sultry brown hair with golden highlights. Her dark chocolate brown eyes were warmed with a smile that brightened up my day. They both did. "What's up girl? How are you doing?" I asked Micha as she settled in her seat and took off her jacket placing it next to her side. "I'm doing good," she sighed with sad undertones. "I'm doing as good as can be expected. My heart is not healing that fast, though," she admitted with one corner of her mouth raised. Her eyes confirmed her confession. The light in them was murky and dull by the heartache she had experienced. "It will get better girl, you just need some distractions. In time you will find someone worthy of you," I said cheerfully as I gently patted her arm. "You just need to work on yourself and make yourself happy," Lizzy suggested. We all agreed. Lizzy and I comforted her the best we knew how. I felt like an idiot. I was giving advice and I hadn't dated anyone in two years. Someone needed to be consoling me, advising me. But, I didn't want a pity party. I turned my eyes away from their view so they wouldn't see my anguish and boredom. The waitress approached our table and took our drink order. We asked for sodas, but we all wanted something a little stronger. None of us were twenty-one yet, though. The waitress returned with our drinks. She was an average height brunette with a shoulder length swing bob and a smile that seemed fake. She didn't look very happy to be there or to wait on us. I sat there sipping my root beer thinking to myself, Just one more month and I will be drinking legally. Yes! I can't wait! (Not like I wanted to drink everyday or anything. As if I would go that far. I preferred to be sober, but I would enjoy having the option.) Lizzy peered up from her phone, "Are they staring at us?" she asked sarcastically, holding the straw up to her lips as she downed the rest of her soda. She motioned with her eyes. We looked to see three guys sitting not too far from us. They appeared out of nowhere. I didn't even see them sit down. I thought about it for a second or two and then shrugged my shoulders in acceptance that they appeared like magic. My eyes were on the prowl, but my head looked through and around them. Although, one of the guys did look interesting to me. "Don't stare, I don't want them to come over," Micha demanded. She looked at them, and batted her long feathery eyelashes. She pretty much stood up and waved a white flag by the invitation of her body language. The other guy closest to us nodded to his friends, then slowly scooted his chair out. He got up, came towards us. Lizzy put her phone down on the table and gripped my arm to announce his presence. I guess she thought I wasn't paying attention. He introduced himself. "Hey, how are you ladies doing? My name is Rick Morris." He grinned boyishly as he pulled a chair from behind him up to the corner of our booth and straddled it. He had dark hair, pale skin, and dark hazel eyes. He was pretty good looking, and seemed like a nice enough guy. We all introduced ourselves. "Hi, I'm Jennifer," I said shyly. "Hey, how are doing? I'm Betty." Micha shook his hand as she finished the last of her soda with the other hand. She stared at her hand after his fingers left hers. "What's up? I'm Sarah," Lizzy smiled, shaking his hand, barely. Partly because she had noticed Micha's confused look. We decided to play our little game. We did this from time to time, just for fun. Although by the end of the night, if they were lucky, we would tell them our real names. We were sitting there drinking our sodas, talking and having fun. Then the other guy, the one I thought was interesting looking, came over and started flirting blatantly with all of us. He was tall, had dark brown hair, a goatee, and mysteriously shaded brown eyes. He was muscular, but not too muscular in a semi-tight plain black shirt and black slacks. He introduced himself as Bill, but didn't give us his last name. In one swift motion he set his empty glass on the table in front of me and paused briefly before coming up. It was almost like he stopped to smell my hair. A warning sign began flashing in my head. I felt strange. I eyed his glass wondering what he had been drinking. It looked to be wine or some kind of deep red beverage. Bill motioned for the cocktail waitress to come over. It was a different lady than our original waitress. "Drinks are on me," he offered, smiling at all of us. The cocktail waitress came to find out what we wanted. I stood up next to him and leaned closer in a nonchalant way and whispered privately, "My birthday is next month." "What day?" he asked, tickling my eardrum with the frequency of his dreamy voice. "May twenty-fifth," I sighed, catching my breath somewhat ashamed of my youth. "I'm not twenty one yet," I admitted reluctantly. He put his arm around me in a friendly way, although I could tell he was attracted to me. He whispered in my ear, "I own this place!" Then he stepped back, but didn't let go of me. I raised my hand and rubbed my ear, it was cold, which puzzled me. He held me really snug, embracing me tightly, but not painfully. I didn't know what to say. Actually, I felt drawn to him, in a weird way. My heart was pounding to the beat of the song on the jukebox and it felt as if it had moved into my head. The song was fast and powerful. And so were the feelings I was experiencing. "You ladies have anything you want, it's on me," Bill announced, still holding me unyieldingly around my waist, but looking at Lizzy and Micha with a huge smile. His teeth gleamed and sparkled. I took a deep breath. Something was wrong. I could feel it deep down, way down inside, in the depth of my core that I was playing with fire. Taken by my dastardliness I withdrew. But, I couldn't stop admiring him. The wanting of love in my life made me desire to play Russian-roulette then and there. (Continues...) Excerpted from Twisted Dream, Dead Moonby Chelsea Raine Copyright © 2010 by CHELSEA RAINE. Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

About the Author

Chelsea Raine has written lyrics and poems all of her life. She is a singer, songwriter, and cosmetologist with a passion for the arts. Originally from Texas, she lives in Virginia, with her husband, John, and their daughter. This is her debut novel.

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