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DESTINY’S CHALLENGE

  Copyright 2016 Cali Rising

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  CHAPTER 1

  “Wake up Riley, it is time,” the voice whispered, yanking her out of a deep sleep.

  Gasping, she jerked into a sitting position, clutching the covers to her chin. Heart galloping inside her chest, she looked around the bedroom, eyes straining to see in the darkness. No one was there. No voice whispered. Shrouded in shadows, the expectant quality of the silent room sent shivers dancing down her spine. Swinging her legs to the floor, stumbling towards the bedroom door, she encountered a pair of gleaming, green eyes in the darkness. Shrieking, she leapt backwards, fell over her bedside table, and landed hard on her backside on the hardwood floor. As she lay there, willing herself to start breathing again, a big form leapt on her, pinning her to the floor, its breath hot on her face. Almost gagging on the metallic taste of fear flooding her mouth, she pushed at the body on top of hers, her fingers sinking into silky fur. Two facts penetrated her terrified brain, fur and green eyes.

  “God, Max,” she shouted, shoving her pet off her.

  Max, her black dog who looked suspiciously like a young wolf, stared at her with his disconcerting emerald green eyes.

  “What the hell are you playing at? Are you trying to scare me to death?” Riley snarled, pulling herself to her feet and rubbing her sore rear end.

  Frowning, she asked, “Were you the whisperer?” Realizing how ridiculous the words sounded, she shook her head and turned towards the kitchen. Chocolate. She needed chocolate. It would calm her heart which was still leaping around inside her chest.

  Opening the fridge, searching for the slice of leftover chocolate cheesecake, she jumped when a sudden gust of wind rattled the window panes. Lightning fled across the night sky with peals of thunder yipping at its heels. Angry raindrops clawed the glass desperate to enter and wrap its icy fingers around her neck. Shaking her head to dispel such fanciful imaginings, she scurried back to bed, hugging the plate of cheesecake to her chest like a security blanket. Max still sat on the bedroom floor. His intense stare made the hairs on the back of her neck prickle.

  “What’s wrong, boy?” Riley asked, reaching out to pat his silky head.

  “Come, we need to get going. It is time. We have been summoned.” Max growled.

  With slow, deliberate movements, Riley put her plate down. She must be asleep and dreaming. She must be. That could be the only explanation for her pet speaking to her in a gravelly, impatient voice. She pinched herself on the arm and shrieked. Since the pain was all too real then she must be wide awake. Maybe she hit her head when she fell earlier and she was hallucinating talking dogs. Maybe it was the stress of work that had landed her in this fix. She had been putting in a lot of long hours preparing year-end financial statements and budget proposals for the upcoming fiscal year. Whoever heard of accountants ending up in the loony bin because of budgets?

  Burying her head in her hands, swaying back and forth, she began muttering, “Oh God. I’ve lost it, I’ve finally lost it. Riley, logical accountant by day, raving mad, mental patient by night.”

  “Will you stop talking to yourself and just listen for a minute?” The gravelly voice sounded both amused and impatient.

  She raised her head and stared wordlessly at Max who stared unblinkingly back at her. Squeezing her eyes shut, she muttered over and over again, “Go away, go away, you are a hallucination, just a hallucination. Dogs don’t talk, dogs don’t talk. I am hallucinating.” After five minutes of steady muttering, and not hearing any more voices, she slowly opened one eye, and found Max still sitting on the floor, grinning at her. Taking a deep breath, Riley decided to play along. Either she would stop hallucinating soon or people with white coats would show up, bundle her into a straitjacket and cart her away. Muttering like a mental patient, even if she was one, was not helping matters.

  Schooling her features into an expressionless mask, heart beating like a bass drum, she said, “Okay, Hallucination, say your piece and then begone!”

  Max chuckled. “Who says “begone”?”

  “Great. Not only a hallucination but a critic, too.” Riley rolled her eyes.

  “I am not a hallucination. Be quiet for a few minutes and all will be revealed.”

  Riley raised an eyebrow, amused in spite of the strangeness of the situation. “Who says ‘All will be revealed’?”

  Tilting his head to one side, Max began “You are Riley Raine, Princess of Avalyss.”

  “What on earth is Avalyss?”

  “Avalyss is not on earth. It is a realm where the practitioners of light magic, Light Bringers, and dark magic, Dark Mages, live. You are the Princess of the Light Bringers.”

  Smiling, Riley nodded, “Yes, yes, accountant by day, princess of a magical land by night. Got it. Everything is crystal clear. Now go away so I can stop hallucinating.”

  Max snapped, “You are not listening, be quiet and all…”

  “Yes, I know, I know, all will be revealed. You sure are taking your sweet time about it.”

  Suddenly, Max lunged towards her, a fierce expression on his black, furry face. Before she could move, he grabbed the collar of her pajamas in his massive jaw and she felt herself falling through space, whirling and spinning in a kaleidoscope of colors.

  Stomach lurching into her throat, Riley clamped her hands tightly around Max’s neck, and kept her eyes closed until her feet hit solid ground. Swaying, she fought to stay upright on wobbly legs. Opening her eyes she found herself standing on a narrow ledge jutting from an ivory white cliff soaring behind her. An angry ocean hurled giant waves at the cliff, spattering her with icy spray. Shivering, squinting in the sunlight glinting off the endless stretch of aquamarine water, she rubbed her aching temples. She had lost her grip on reality. Sane people did not suddenly find themselves transported from a perfectly normal apartment to this narrow ledge overlooking a furious ocean in the blink of an eye. A sliver of fear crawled up her spine.

  She turned towards Max, still not believing that she was conversing with her dog. “What is going on? How did we get here? Where are we?”

  Max stood motionless, staring out at the ocean, his black fur dancing in the wind. Riley’s nerves twanged like a bow as she waited for him to speak.

  “Welcome to Avalyss, Riley. Come with me and all your questions will be answered.” He turned towards the cliff and vanished.

  Riley blinked and sucked in a lungful of air. Pets, even annoying, talking ones, did not just vanish like smoke. Slowly, she looked around the ledge. No Max. Clamping down on the wave of panic rising within her, she strode towards the cliff wall, looking for any hidden entrances but found nothing.

  “Max, Max!” She yelled until her voice cracked and her throat ached. She was alone, except for the howling wind and the roaring ocean. Pulling her foot back, she was about to kick the cliff when common sense intervened. Why add a broken foot on top of her other problems? Anger whooshed out of her body leaving her spent and broken like a discarded toy. Uncertain as to what her next move should be, she sat on the ledge, her back pressed against the cliff wall, hugging her knees to her chest.

  With a loud bang and a bright flash a man appeared in front of her. Startled, she jumped to her feet, ricocheted off the cliff wall, and felt herself slipping over the edge. Arms flailing, she grabbed at the man’s outstretched arm, felt the corded mus
cles beneath her fingers tense and coil as he pulled her to safety. Shaking, she stood in the circle of the stranger’s arms, inhaling his unique scent of leather and lemons laced with a healthy dose of danger. Her blood sang, her pulse thrummed and her heart beat a fast tattoo as waves of desire washed over her. The urge to press her body into his made her senses spin. Shocked by her sudden physical reaction she wrested herself from his arms.

  Confused, cheeks flaming, she snapped, “Who are you? You almost killed me!”

  He raised an eyebrow. “I believe I just saved you from tumbling over that cliff. You are welcome, by the way.”

  The sound of his voice, dark and smoky like whisky caused her heart to do flip flops. Flustered by her reaction, she stared at him. He towered over her, his wavy lustrous hair, the color of wild honey, tumbled over broad shoulders. Blessed with chiseled cheekbones, an aquiline nose and full kissable lips, his strong face wore an amused expression. Watchful amber eyes stared back at her. Lion’s eyes, she thought. Suddenly it hurt to breathe.

  “Who are you?” she repeated, wondering why her voice sounded high pitched and a little squeaky.

  A slow, sexy grin spread across his face, revealing dimples deep enough to drown in. Bowing, he said, “Cole Dalton, Lord of the Dark Mages, at your service. And you must be the Princess of Light.” His whisky voice strummed her already heightened senses.

  “Princess? Have you been talking to Max? Where is he?”

  “According to an ancient prophesy the Princess of Light and the Lord of the Dark Mages will fight on opposite sides in an epic battle. One is destined to kill the other.”

  She gaped at him. Gorgeous but crazier than a loon, she thought. Shaking her head, she said, “Don’t be ridiculous. You are crazy but I certainly don’t want to kill you.”

  He just stood there grinning at her in an infuriating way. His eyes traveled the length of her body and she stiffened as his eyes glimmered with laughter and his lips twitched. With a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, she followed his downward gaze and discovered that she was dressed in fuzzy leopard print pajamas with matching bedroom slippers. Mortified, she cursed Max under her breath, vowing to inflict severe bodily harm on him the moment he returned. The idiot had not given her a chance to change before dragging her to this forsaken place.

  “Nice outfit,” Cole drawled. “In that getup you will not need to kill me. I’ll probably just die laughing.”

  Turning varying shades of crimson, she gritted her teeth. “Shut up! What is this place? Is it a mental institution filled with talking, disappearing dogs and half-witted Lords? Max! Max, come here at once. I want to go home!”

  Lightning rent the cloudless blue sky and a snarling Max materialized between Riley and Cole.

  Cole’s grin widened but he took a step back. “Ah, your protector has come. I must bid you farewell, Princess. Till we meet again.” Bowing, he whirled and vanished.

  Livid, Riley dug her nails into her palms to stop herself from strangling Max on the spot. She hissed, “Home. Now!”

  Concerned green eyes stared into hers. “Did he hurt you?”

  “Who? Cole? Why would he hurt me? Stop this nonsense. Take me home this instant!”

  “You are home.” He turned, but before he could disappear again, Riley leapt forward, grabbed him around the neck, and once again felt herself falling and spinning through space.