The Sphinx Project (29 page)
Read The Sphinx Project Online
Authors: Kate Hawkings
Bodies lay scattered around the streets, as though thrown there by some unseen force. I turned the radio on, flicking through the channels only to find static before reaching for Matt's cell phone on the dashboard. Opening it, no signal could be found at all.
As we came to a point where we should have been able to see the skyscrapers of the city clearly, I suddenly realized the skyline we'd seen when driving into Albany on our first night was no longer there. Had we not been paying attention to the carnage directly around us, we would have been aware of this much earlier.
"Stop!" I exclaimed in panic. "Stop now!"
I pushed the door open and set the little girl on my seat. Using the edge of the door, I levered myself onto the roof of the four-wheel drive.
"Mouse," I frantically called into the microphone after reconnecting the battery pack. "Come here."
She leaped onto the car, joining me where I stood, followed soon after by Nike, Matt and Nicole. Soon, all of the men had parked their vehicles alongside ours and were standing atop their vehicles too.
For a while I couldn't speak. The words just wouldn't come. When I finally forced them out, I could only manage one question.
"There should be a city there, right?" I asked, gazing at the enormous gaping crater in the distance, exactly where Albany had stood only yesterday.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Ashley Kimball, Susie Hayes, Wendy Keenan, Jani Grey, Amy Hydara and Rhonda Snelgar, for being awesome beta readers. Thanks also to my amazing editor Rhonda Helms, and proofreader Tracy Eklund. Thank you to Isabell (Deadly Wanderer Art) for the beautiful cover art, and Sarah Pearson (you know why.) Thanks to Mom and Dad, for always supporting me (even when I was making dumb mistakes.) And last but not least Andrew, for putting up with the angry, stressy, psycho Kate who appeared every time there was even a hint of a deadline, and just being so amazing in general.
About the author
Kate Hawkings is just a Kiwi girl, making her way in the big ol' world. She pushes doors that say pull, she says it's a long story when it's not, and is completely addicted to chocolate.
The Sphinx Project is Kate's debut novel and the first book in The Chimaera Chronicles. For more information on Kate Hawkings and her upcoming titles please go to: katheringhawkings.blogspot.com
Want more?
Turn over to check out other stories from self-published authors
Reveal
By Brina Courtney
High school senior Shay Tafford leads a less than normal life. Hiding her ability to speak to ghosts from her family and friends is one thing, but discovering there's a beautiful boy named Hugh who has the same gift is an entirely different problem; especially when she's been crushing on him for weeks. Since her life's not already chaotic enough, her only confidante- a boy ghost- has disappeared as thoroughly as her father did twelve years ago. With Hugh's help, Shay must find the answers she needs in order to save the people she loves from disappearing- forever.
"If you are looking for a YA book that will grab you and pull you in -REVEAL is it." - Melanie Carrico Have you Heard Book Review
Excerpt
I drive out to the spot where I told Jeremy to meet me. �Let's see how good a six year old ghost is at remembering directions. �It's really dark tonight so I'm glad I remembered my flashlight.� When I arrive near the orphanage I zipper up my coat and pull my scarf around my neck.�� I always feel like it's cold when it's this dark no matter what time of year.� I get out and walk holding my flashlight out in front of me. �I can hear voices up ahead.� There are more voices than there should be. �There's a distinct difference between live voices and dead ones. �People who have passed lack control of their final consonants, meaning there's almost always a wispiness to the end of their words. �In the conversation up ahead I hear both live and dead voices. �I shine my light in their direction and two things surprise me. �One, there's about ten or so ghosts here, all children,
not in the plan, Jeremy
. �Two, there is a guy here, a guy I know and that I'm practically in love with.
"Excuse me," I say loudly, knowing he's already seen me, "do you know this is private property?"
"Yes, I do, and I also happen to know you're trespassing." �I get a better look at him now that I'm closer. �
Shit
, he has a security uniform on.� How am I going to talk my way out of this one? �He looks me up and down, sizing me up, I'm not sure if he is thinking about tazeing me or sleeping with me, but either way I'm slightly worried.
"I didn't know they had security out here. �I was just taking a walk and I heard voices, thought I'd come check it out."
"Shay, that's dangerous and besides you were taking a walk? At 12:30 at night?"
"Yep."
"That's highly unusual."
"If you talk to my mom she'll tell you that I am highly unusual and you certainly know what she's like. �Anyway, about those voices…" and with that I spot him, Jeremy is at the front of the crowd looking right at me a huge smile plastered on his face.
"Yeah I don't know what you're talking about, but it's time to move along. �Maybe I should give you a ride home."
"No it's OK, I'll just walk from here."� Before I get the chance to pretend to walk away Jeremy comes running toward me and I see it in Hugh's eyes, for just a second, that he sees the little boy too. �I feel the cold on my body as I always do when Jeremy touches me, but this time he has his arms around me in an all out hug. �I can't help but smile, and when I do Tall, Dark and Handsome's eyes go right to the place where Jeremy's little hands are.
"Who are you?" Hugh says to me clear as day, no more hiding I guess.
"Shay Tafford, we've met before, remember? �I'm Calculus girl and apparently that's all I'm good for.� You said we'd hang out, but we haven't.� I think the real question here is who are you?" �
He shakes his head.� "I know who you are, but how do you know all these kids?"
I pause.� Can I trust him? �His trustworthy golden eyes tell me I can, but if he can see them too, this is all a little much. �And why are his eyes golden tonight?� What happened to the mysterious green?� I look him up and down one final time.� Decision, I need to trust him.� We can all run or levitate away if he turns out to be dangerous, though I pray he's not.� I really want things to work out between Hugh and me.
"Well that's not what you asked.� And I know only one, but I bet I can figure out who the rest are, why?"
Hugh starts in on a rant I never expected. �"Because they're out of bed and it's late! �And Madame will wonder where they've gone! �Are you crazy having them out here without her, what are you thinking?" �He's flipping out, not about the fact that the kids are dead, he's upset at the fact they're out of bed this late at night.
Weirdo.
"You need to calm down," I tell him. �Jeremy is now standing to the right of me holding my hand. �His cold fingers interlace with mine, but he still has a goofy grin on his face.
"Do you know this man?" I ask Jeremy quietly bending down to his now short level. �
Jeremy looks up at me with those big brown eyes I've missed so much. �"Oh yes, he's the protector." �He's the what?
Hugh chimes in loudly "I'm also his great nephew."
Ok now really… What. The. Hell.
The Fairy Godmother Dilemma: Catspell
By Danyelle Leafty
Sixteen-year-old Breena never thought anything could be worse than being forced to leave the faerie realm. Then she got stuck with a fairy godmother. But if she has to choose between the two, she'd leave the Faerie Realm over getting bossed about by a faerie with a pointed stick any day. Unfortunately, her attempt to evade her fairy godmother gives her growing pains in the form of fur, whiskers, and a tail.
Turning into a cat is the least of her worries, though. The potion wasn't meant to bring out her inner feline, it was meant to put her to sleep. Forever. If Breena wants to make it to her Happily Ever After, she'll have to accept that sometimes a fairy godmother really does come in handy, after all.
Excerpt
One hundred and two girls beamed down at Nerissa from the wall.
One hundred and two perfect smiles captured in oil and gilded frames, proof that sometimes dreams do come true. Each portrait hung with the same composure and refinement as the girl it represented. Which was, to say, they were all perfectly aligned and centered.
Except for the newest addition.
Nerissa sneezed as she tried again to get the newest portrait to hang straight. The girl in the painting had a quiet, apologetic look on her face as if she knew she was the odd duck out. The only one with a smile so fleeting, it disappeared before it had even finished forming.
Fortunately, there was a prince for all occasions and one for every girl. It was just a matter of finding the right one at the right time.
Because every girl—odd duck or not—wanted a Happily Ever After, complete with the deserving suitor, the crown, and the sunset. And for the life of her, Nerissa couldn't begin to fathom why.
She sneezed again and gave up on the painting. If it wanted to lean a little to the left, so be it. Thanks to Nerissa's help and timely intervention, the girl had found her Happily Ever After in a small, obscure country famed for its cuckoo clocks.
Because that's all that really mattered in the end—the Happily Ever After.
It was always the same story. A sweet and beautiful young girl forced to slave over hearth and home while her stepmother and stepsisters enjoyed the bounty of her labors. Year after year, the girl soldiered on, carrying a dream in her heart that someday, somehow, someone would rescue her.
And that someone usually turned out to be the girl's fairy godmother.
Nerissa would never understand why they always took so long to call on her for help. They usually waited until the situation had become so dire, it was near impossible to navigate. And yet the girls always had great faith that a beautiful gown, a little music, and a lot of moonlight would fix everything.
And it did, for a time.
Table of Contents