Big Easy Bounty Hunter Book 1: Big Monster Money
This battle between siblings brings a new meaning to family drama
Big Monster Money snippet –
Dammit, whoever’s behind me is still there, Natalia fretted as she forced herself to maintain the same steady pace instead of breaking into a run as her instincts screamed.
I knew it was a mistake to come to Knoxville. I should have gone farther before I stopped to decide what to do. I should have known someone would spot me and rat me out to them. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I need to go far away, maybe to another country, to escape my family’s reach.
Natalia pulled her black ash wand from a concealed pocket in her cloak and gripped it in a white-knuckled fist. She readied a lethal spell as she ducked into the shadows of the university stadium and crouched behind a thick concrete column. She held her breath as she tried to hear the stealthy footsteps over the pounding of her racing heart.
“Come out, sister. I know you’re there,” an amused voice called.
Oh damn, it’s Chauncey. Natalia drew a breath to steel herself and stepped out to face him with her wand held concealed along her leg. If Chauncey was here, it was for one of two reasons. Either she agreed to come home and marry the man her mother had arranged for her willingly, or she returned as her older brother’s unwilling captive. There was no way Chauncey would have been there unless their mother ordered it. The stuck-up prick barely concealed his disdain for Natalia and her “soft heart,” as he called her refusal to embrace the evil agendas the dark families pushed.
“Go home, Chauncey. I’m not marrying that man to advance Mother’s political aspirations. I’m never setting foot in that woman’s house again.”
“Don’t be stupid,” Chauncy spat. “You will come home with me and attend your wedding with a smile on your stupid face. You’ve embarrassed the family too much with your childish actions already. You’re lucky our mother wants you alive. My vote was to kill you flat out for your insolent behavior.”
Natalia whipped her wand up, and a black orb with red streaks shot toward his head. With a casual flick of his wrist, the sphere veered harmlessly over the parking lot.
“Is that the best you’ve got?” Chauncey smirked. “You should have paid closer attention when your tutors taught offensive spell work. See if you remember this one.”
His wand slashed the air at chest level, and a blast of wind shoved her back against the rough concrete support she’d hidden behind. She gritted her teeth and made an intricate motion with one hand while stabbing straight out with her wand. The wind cut off immediately. Natalia spun her wand in a half-circle and sent a cloud of black fog from its tip toward her attacker.
Chauncey’s eyes widened as he recognized the spell that would melt his skin like acid if it touched him. He swept his wand up and spun it over his head three times as he muttered, “Ventus.” The oily black cloud halted as if it had hit a wall and started to rotate. The cloud spun faster and faster until it was a column of darkness spinning between them. Chauncey sent the deadly fog up with a flick of his wand, where it dissipated in the dark skies above.
“Ooh, that’s nasty, sister. Maybe you aren’t a total waste after all,” Chauncey sneered as he shot a fireball toward her.
Natalia ducked her head and swept her wand down as she shouted, “Vallum.” The fireball hit an unseen obstacle and stopped in the air between them, turning a sickly green before it faded out.
“I’m not some broodmare Mother can marry off to the highest bidder to get what she wants. Randall Blackwell is an abusive, womanizing bastard. I’ll never marry him, no matter what you or Mommy Dearest want!” Natalia yelled as she launched a thick stream of red flame toward the grinning wizard.
He batted it aside with a careless shrug. “You don’t have a choice, Natalia. Your opinion of Randall and your objections are on record, but you will not bring shame to our family. Mother worked hard to arrange this pairing, and it will increase our family standing with the other dark families. You either come back to Lexington willingly, or I’ll blast you until you’re too weak to resist. You know you can’t beat me. You never have and never will.”
“Dammit, Chauncey! Why do you always have to be such a prick? Mommy’s favorite, always doing her bidding. Grow a pair and tell her you couldn’t find me. You know the Blackwell clan are all bad news.”
“That’s enough of this childish stupidity. If you were half as loyal to our family as I am, you wouldn’t have run in the first place. If you don’t come back on your own, I’ll do whatever is necessary before I let you shame us in the eyes of the others.” An evil-looking globe of green and yellow formed on the tip of his wand as he harangued her. Now he raised it menacingly above his head. “Last chance, sister. What will it be? Marriage or death?”
A cluster of small black orbs split apart and shot toward the wizard as she grunted, “Marrying that bastard will be the death of me, and you damn well know it.”
Chauncey threw his hand out and shook his head contemptuously as the attack approached. The spheres stopped and zipped back toward the witch. She desperately tried to block them, but one struck her hand and dislodged her wand as another hit her shoulder and knocked her into a wall.
“Well, Natalia, since you’re determined not to honor your family obligations—something Mother thought wasn’t possible—it’s up to our dear sister Angelica to step up and do it for you. She always was the more loyal daughter. The fact that she’s been screwing Randall for the past two years makes me sure he’d prefer her instead of your prudish ass anyway.”
He laughed as he released the massive ball of dark magic toward her. She pushed up on one arm and screamed as darkness enveloped her.
On your mother’s orders, try to kill your sister for not marrying the right man. That makes for a complicated family dynamic. How is Natalia going to survive this encounter with her brother? Find out on October 4th, when Big Easy Bounty Hunter Book 1: Big Monster Money is released. Until then head over to Amazon and pre-order today.
