Dark Nebula (The Chronicles of Kerrigan)

Dark Nebula

Book II

The Chronicles of Kerrigan

W. J.
MAY

A MITCHELL MORRIS BOOK

A
dark nebula
is a type of
interstellar cloud
that is so dense it obscures the light from the background
emission
or
reflection nebula
so that it blocks out background stars.

The form of such dark clouds is very irregular: they have no clearly defined outer boundaries and sometimes take on convoluted serpentine shapes. The largest dark nebulae are visible to the naked eye, appearing as dark patches against the brighter background of the Milky Way.

Wikipedia

"W. J. May's words flowed and kept the story from becoming dry. It didn't feel like scenes were thrown into the book just for the heck of it. Everything had a purpose in furthering the plot, and though this was a debut novel it didn't read like one at all."
- Book Snatch

"This is a story of loss, love, hope, self-confidence, trust and sacrifice."

-Little Library Muse

"I absolutely loved this book! It's not vampires, wizards, werewolves, or any of that other stuff that's so overdone now -- it's totally unique! Definitely a page turner, I loved finding out more about everyone's tats and especially Rae's and how she learned to use it. The ending is great but unexpected. I heard that there will be a sequel to this book and I am so excited to read it! This was a really amazing book, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy like Twilight or Harry Potter but wants something new. This book included mystery, magic, romance, and hot guys! I could definitely see it being an amazing movie."-
Flamingnet Young Adult Reviews

TOP CHOICE AWARD

Chapter 1

Tatù

A
lifespan is spent
,
seeking success and happiness.
People
chase after dreams, careers, ambitions, faith,
partners,
and money; all in the hope of finding the success and contentment they so long for.
The only place we need to search is within ourselves.
O
ur inner powers
will
move us forward
--
we must
show the world
our tatùs
.
Our capabilities and potential are
far greater than any
thing
man has ever done, or will do.
We are above mankind
--
above the law
which
rules over them.

Notes from Simon Kerrigan’s Journal
—
two decades ago

“
T
he
motto
of the Privy Council
is
‘
to protect at all costs
’
.”
Devon
walked a little taller and straighter than he had the last time Rae had seen him, his chest puffed with pride
.

“
The what
?
W
ho?
” Rae
raced
to keep pace with
Devon
’s long strides as
the two of them
wove their way
through the airport
’s
parked cars
with the sun beating down on them.

Devon
stopped, let go of one of the
suitcases he pulled
and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
“The Privy Council
.
I know
it sounds old-
fashion
ed
, but trust me, it isn’t.”
He slipped
the
sunglasses off the top of his head
and
onto his nose
before he started walking again
.
“
It’s
the elite of the
elite tatùs.”

Rae hustled to keep up.
“I get
that
there’s a company that works with our…talents.” It had been a year since
she
had
learned about th
e
unique
group of individuals
that
sh
e
was
now a part of.
When she
had
turned six
teen
the previous year
,
she had
woke
n
up with a
tatù
.
A fairy covered her lower back with Celtic design and a sun inset throughout. In certain light, the fairy’s wings appeared to sparkle.
Different from a tattoo, it had
gifted her with supernatural power.
Devon
was also gifted with a tatù, a fennec fox, giving him heightened senses
,
super
speed,
and agility
.
However, Rae’s power was unique, even in their already exclusive and insular world. She could mimic another individual’s tatù. No one else could do that.
Huge, big-time ability
.
Because of her singular ability, Rae knew she was “of interest” to the
shadowy
Privy Council, the ruling body of the tatù community
.
Everyone knew “of” it but no one actually knew anything about it. To have
Devon
suddenly working for them gave Rae pause. They’d barely emailed or talked over the summer. Strange for two people just starting a relationship…then again, the pesky societal rules against tatùs and romantic relationships might have hampered the communication also.
Unsure whether to outright ask
Devon
why
he had
been so distant over the summer or leave it be,
Rae
squinted
and tucked a curly
highlighted
strand behind her ear
to buy herself some time
. “I don’t understand wha
t the company does, or why you’
re working for them
now
.
You’re only eighteen.
Are you an intern or something?
”

He
grinned. “
Y
ou
’ve barely
learned about your
tatù
, while
most of us have known
before
we started school
.
It’s totally unde
rstandable you’re confused.” His warm han
d grazed the small of her back.

It sent tingles across the fairy tatù, making it feel like the fairy’s wings were actually fluttering.
A pleasant shiver ran up her spine from the contact, and Rae paused to enjoy it.

Devon
, who
probably
knew exactly how his touch made her feel,
winked at her
before he
turned serious.
“
The
agency
works to protect those of us
tatùed
and
, if needed,
Britain
.
It
kinda
works like the James Bond movies
.
Did you know that
the prime minister and
government
have no idea what the Privy Council actually represents
?
They
only
know
that it does a darn good job.
W
e seldom, if ever, make a mistake.”

We?
Rae nodded,
not sure if she liked that her boyfriend considered himself part of this group
already,
when
he had
told her nothing about it
.
Don’t normal
dating couples
talk about stuff that excites them? Boys are supposed to drone on and on about manly things and girls are supposed to
—
oh I don’t know
—
something.
He’s so different, it’s like he changed without me.
Feeling insecurity rise up, Rae shifted uncomfortably and fought to push the emotion out of her way. She
scolded
herself
,
Don’t be so sensitive. Just be glad to be back
.
She had
missed everything at school, not just
Devon
.
Well, m
ostly
Devon
, but not only
him
.

She followed
him
, zigzagging through the parked cars, trying to keep her
heavy
suitcase on its little wheels.
They stopped
in front of
a shiny
,
sleek, black car
,
which
had obviously been created for speed
.

“What do you think?”
Devon
let go of the two suitcases and spread his arms.
He looked up and down the car, a smile playing on his lips.

“Who
se
is this?”
She
tilted
her head sideways,
pretending
to admire it
,
all the while trying to
figure out the make
of the car
.

Devon
laughed
,
“It’s mine. My da
d and I made a deal.
I could pick out a car I liked, and
he
’d
pay
for it.”

“I doubt your dad, the
new d
ean
of
Guilder
,
would agree to th
is
.” She laughed
,
playfully elbowing him in the ribs
.

“
Well,
y
ou
’re
half
right
.” He held his hands up in mock defense.
“I paid for half of it with the money I made working with the Privy Council
this summer
.
My d
ad offered to pay th
e other half
.
A
graduation gift
,
he said
.”

“What kind of car is
it
?” It looked like
he had
taken it right off some
futuristic
race track.

“It’s a Lotus.”

“A Lotus?” Rae squinted, trying to
place the name
.

“
They make formula cars a
nd a few road
ones
.
It’s a Lotus Exige Cup two-six-zero.” He stood grinning like a kid in a candy store.

Big boy needs an expensive toy.
Rae gently touched the black paint, careful not to let her fingernail
scratch it
.
She half expected
Devon
to pull
out
the bottom of his shirt
to buff her fingerprints out of his paint job
. Instead, he just winked at her and moved to the back of the car.

Devon
began
load
ing
her suitcases into
the boot
and back of the car
.
“If I recall,
you only had half this amount of luggage last year
.
”

Rae shrugged
and stretched the kinks out of her back from the long flight
, ready for the drive to
Guilder
Boarding School
.
To the rest of the world, Guilder was an ultra-exclusive, all-male boarding school deep in the unpopulated English countryside, which had only opened its doors to women the previous year. What they didn't know, was that Guilder catered only to the tatùed community.
Rae had successfully navigated the tricky waters of both a new school and a totally new way of life, despite being the focus of almost everyone’s attention, be it for
good or ill. She actually had friends at Guilder, something she could not say of her old school in
New York
.
It help
s
that everyone at Guilder
’
s kinda like
me
. Maybe not exactly like her, but enough that they had something in common. She had missed that over the summer, th
e
sense of camaraderie.
It felt good to be back
—
in
England
and with
Devon
.
“What can I say?”
She held up her palms
, trying to make her face look innocent
. “
Molly taught me how to shop
,
so
I took advantage of the great
sales
in
New York
this summer.”
She opened the passenger door
and climbed in
.
The expected new-car smell mingled pleasantly with the scent of expensive leather
.
Molly had been her roommate the previous year, and they had become best friends
.
“
Speaking of new changes…
I know we’re keeping our
boyfriend-girlfriend-thing
a secret,
”
to say any romantic relationship between tatùed individuals was taboo would be a categorical understat
e
ment
,
“
but how come
you didn’t email me a pic of the car…Or something?
”
Anything
.
Or
contacted me
more
than
twice this summer
?
Two short and basically meaningless emails had been his only attempt at co
mmunication
.
She didn’t say it, but even seeing him now didn’t erase
her
disappointment.
Typical gu
y.