Rival Demons (30 page)

Jackson nodded. "I think we should go," he
said.

I had no idea if this soldier really knew who my
father was, but after wondering about my father for my whole life,
I had to know one way or the other. And I needed to get the boy to
safety.

"Okay," I said. "We'll come with you. How far is
it to the Center?"

"We can get there almost instantly," Gregory
said. "Just take my hand."

I hesitated. Jackson picked up the child, took
one of my hands and nodded. I reached out and grabbed Gregory's
hand. The feeling of falling and rushing forward at the same time
took over. We shifted into smoke and flew through the air at
amazing speeds. Before I even had even gotten used to the feeling
of being light and fast, we came to a halt just outside an arched
gate made of pure silver.

It took a moment for me to get my breath, but
once I did, I gasped at the beauty of this place. We stood on the
outskirts of a gigantic domed city. I took a step back, trying to
take it all in. I turned and saw that behind us was the same
beautiful scenery we'd been walking through for two days. The domed
city seemed out of place here.

A soldier stepped forward and took the boy from
Jackson's arms. "We'll get him to our shamans right away," the
soldier said.

"You'll find us when he's better?" I asked.

The soldier nodded, then disappeared inside the
dome.

"What is this place?" Jackson asked.

"This is the one remaining city in the Southern
Kingdom," Gregory explained. "Years ago, the King of the South
started an initiative to move all citizens into one central
location where everyone could be guarded and safe. Over time, the
entire country moved into the safety of what we call the
Center."

"And the dome?" I asked. "What's that for?"

"The dome is a special kind of barrier that
keeps anyone inside from casting human magic," he said. "Pure demon
magic still works, but human magic simply doesn't work. If a hunter
were to enter through this archway, they would be completely
powerless."

"Amazing," Jackson said.

I was actually grateful for the conversation.
The thought of possibly meeting my father after all these years
scared me to death. It had already been one of the most emotional
weeks of my entire life. How much more could my heart take at this
point?

"We'd better get inside," Gregory said. He
motioned for us to go ahead.

Jackson and I passed through the archway and
into the streets of the Center. The city sat on a long hillside
with a large, ornate castle at the very top of the hill.

Gregory led us up through the main path and
as we walked, a crowd began to gather on both sides of the street.
Everyone stared at me, whispering. Had word about my battle with
the hunters spread this far already?

"What's going on here?" I whispered to
Jackson.

"I'm not sure," he said. "But Harper, there are
both humans and demons living here. I know everyone looks the same
to you, but it's amazing. I've never seen this kind of community
before. The Southern Kingdom is nothing like we thought."

We continued up the hill, the streets becoming
more and more crowded. Several people bowed their heads down low as
I passed. Confused, I nodded to them, unsure what exactly was going
on. "How much farther?" I asked.

Gregory looked up toward the castle. "Not much
farther now," he said.

In minutes, we had reached the steps of the
castle. With shaky legs, I walked to the top. Gregory led us
through an enormous entryway, then straight up a beautiful crystal
staircase to the second floor. We followed him down a long
corridor, my heart beating so fast in my chest.

As we approached a set of tall double doors,
servants on either side opened them to reveal a large open room.
With tentative steps, I walked inside, my eyes fixing on the golden
throne at the far end. I turned back to question Gregory, but he
had bowed down, his knees touching the ground.

Confused, I glanced back to the throne room.
Then I saw him. There, standing in a strip of sunlight, his back
turned, was the King of the South.

I took a step toward him, feeling strangely
drawn in his direction.

When he heard my footsteps, he turned slowly,
his silver eyes lighting from within.

I gasped. I recognized this man from my dream.
From the vision I had when I touched the shaman. His cheerful face
broke out in a wide smile and he opened his arms to me.

"Welcome home, daughter."

I stood frozen in the moment.

I stared at this familiar yet foreign face and
instantly knew he was telling the truth. I didn't know how or when,
but I knew in that instant that this demon, this king, was my
father.

He moved toward me, tears shimmering in his eyes
despite his smile. My feet broke free of the floor's hold on them,
and I ran forward to meet him, letting his arms wrap around me.

"Oh Harper," he said, his tears falling like
diamonds into my hair. "You have no idea how long I have longed for
this moment. Let me look at you."

He held me at arm's length and studied my face.
He picked up one of my curls and his smile grew sad. "You look so
much like your mother."

"I have so many questions," I said, not knowing
where to begin. It was as if a whole new life had just opened up to
me. I thought of the strange white smoke. "Am I a demon?"

The king laughed. "Half," he said. "Actually a
little more than half, but we'll get to all that in time, I
promise."

Jackson joined us, and I reached out to take his
hand.

"And this must be Jackson," the king said. He
extended a hand and the two shook.

"It's an honor to meet you sir," he said,
putting his arm around me. "It sounds like you know a lot more
about us than we know about you. I think we all have a lot to talk
about."

"Yes, yes," the king said, wiping the tears from
his bearded face. "There will be plenty of time for your questions.
But come. Harper, the people of the kingdom have waited so long to
meet you. I'm sure they've all heard of your victory today, too.
Your inner strength never ceases to amaze me. I have never felt so
proud in my life."

Hot tears filled my eyes. My father was proud of
me. Those were words I never thought I'd hear in my life. In all my
years, I had never met a single soul that belonged to me. I had
never known anyone that could truly be called family.

Until now.

At his urging, I stepped out onto the large
stone balcony. Cheers rang out as the crowds below came into view.
Fireworks soared into the air and burst into various colors. I
stared out, not believing this could be real.

Someone down below shouted out, "Welcome home,
Princess Harper."

I gasped, my hand flying to my chest. Princess?
Me? Now I knew I must be dreaming.

"Can this be real?" I asked.

Jackson took my hand and gave it a hard
squeeze.

On my other side, my father put his arm around
me, then thrust his other fist high into the air. A roaring cheer
went up from the people below, filling my ears with sounds of
joyful celebration.

"It's real," my father said, hugging me tight.
"And I promise you, it's only the beginning."

For more information on the release dates and cover
art for

Demons Forever,

the final book in the PHD series,

please sign up for my mailing list through my website
or blog!

Dear Reader,

Words cannot express my gratitude to all of
you. Your faithful support of this series has truly change my life.
Thank you for always having faith in me and in Harper!

Please stay in touch. You can follow news on
my release dates, new books, and upcoming series by signing up for
my mailing list through my website or blog.

I hope you're as excited about the last book
as I am! I can't wait to share how Harper's story ends.

XOXO,

Sarra

About the Author

Sarra Cannon grew up in a small town in Georgia where
she learned that being popular always comes at a price. Now, she
lives in North Carolina with her amazing husband and her teeny tiny
Pomeranian, Snickerdoodle. Books and music are her greatest
passions. She has never been a cheerleader, but it's possible she
knows a few things about casting spells.

Connect with Me Online:

Website:
www.sarracannon.com

Twitter:
www.twitter.com/sarramaria

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/sarracannon

Goodreads:
www.goodreads.com/sarra_cannon

My Blog:
http://thesweetiechronicles.blogspot.com
/

An excerpt from

by J.L. Bryan

Fairy Metal Thunder
is the story of a teenage garage band who steals magical
instruments from the fairy world and uses them to become rock
stars.

Saturday night, Jason sat at home in his living
room, his guitar in his lap, trying to pick out the music for
"Angel Sky," the song he'd written for Erin. He was having trouble
getting the music and lyrics to flow together.

His mother had dragged his father to a
collectible ceramics convention in Minneapolis, an hour away, and
they still weren't back.

"Jason?" Katie asked. His little sister stood in
the doorway of the living room in her Bert and Ernie pajamas.

"What is it, Katie?"

"Um..." She fidgeted, looking nervous.

"What's wrong? You should be sleeping."

"I know, but...there's a monster."

Jason sighed and put his guitar down. "Did you
have a bad dream?"

"It's not a dream! I saw it go into Mom and
Dad's room."

"If it's not in your room, you don't have
anything to worry about."

"But I could be next!" Katie looked
terrified.

"You're completely safe, Katie. There's no
monster."

"Is too!"

"Okay." Jason stood up and stretched. "Let's go
check it out. I’ll show you there's nothing to be scared of."

"Thanks, Jason." She took his hand as he walked
toward the steps, something she hadn't done in a couple of years.
She really was frightened.

They walked upstairs and to the end of the short
hall in their split-level house. Katie stayed back, clinging to the
frame of her bedroom door, while Jason approached the master
bedroom.

"See, Katie?" he said. "Mom and Dad’s door is
still closed. How could a monster get into their room?"

"He just went puff," Katie said.

"He went puff, huh?" Jason said. He had no idea
what that meant, but Katie had a very busy imagination.

Jason pushed open the door to his parents' room
and glanced inside. "See, Katie, there's no...."

But Jason
had
seen something. He looked
again.

There it was—a small creature, about two feet
high, standing on his parents' dresser. It looked like a tiny
person, dressed in a ratty, dirty wool overcoat, with a woolen cap
pulled low over its eyes. Its pudgy green hands pawed through his
mother's jewelry box. Jason watched the creature drop a pair of
ruby earrings into a pocket of its coat.

"Hey!" Jason said.

The little creature jumped and spun around to
face him. Its face was green and ugly, with an underbite, its eyes
big and yellow under the low bill of the cap.

"What are you?" Jason asked.

The thing growled a little, then disappeared in
a puff of green smoke. It reappeared in the space in front of the
dresser, near the bottom drawer, and landed on its feet, which were
clad in small, badly cracked leather shoes. It ran across the
carpet to the window. It disappeared in another green puff, then
reappeared standing on the windowsill.

"Stop!" Jason yelled. "Give that back!"

The little creature stuck out its dark green
tongue at Jason, then disappeared with another puff of smoke. It
reappeared on the little ledge outside the window, waved at Jason
with a smile full of yellow, crooked teeth, and then hopped out of
sight.

"Hey!" Jason ran to the window and opened it. He
saw the creature blink in and out of visibility as it tumbled to
the back yard, leaving a trail of green smoke fading in the
air.

Jason hurried out of his parents' room, past
Katie, who was crouching behind her door, poking out her head.

"Did you see the monster?" she whispered.

"Don't worry, I chased it away." Jason started
down the steps. "But it stole some jewelry from Mom. I'll go get it
back."

Katie stepped out of her room and walked to the
top stair.

"Can I come?" she asked.

"No, Katie! Wait here. I'll be right back."

"But I want to come with!" Katie crossed her
arms and pouted.

"No! I'm serious, Katie."

Jason ran through the living room and out onto
their concrete slab of a patio. He saw the little green man
trampling through a flower bed at the edge of the yard. The
creature reached the neighbor's split-rail fence and puffed through
it.

Jason raced to the fence and leaped over. When
his shoes hit the ground, the creature turned its green face to
look back at him, snarled, and put on speed. It puffed in and out
of sight, jumping forward about a foot each time.

Jason hurried to keep up as the creature shot
forward across his neighbor's lawns. The little thing could move
fast, but Jason had much longer legs than it did, and he gained on
the creature.