Illene - Destined for Eternity

Dark Destiny Series

by Susan Illene

Destined for Eternity

Copyright 2018 by Susan Illene

All right reserved.

This book, whole or in part, may not be copied, scanned, or reproduced by electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying or the implementation of any type of storage or retrieval system) without the express written permission of the author, except where permitted by law. Please do not participate or encourage the piracy of copyrighted materials. Purchase only authorized editions.

www.susanillene.com

ISBN-10: 0-9863361-8-1

ISBN-13: 978-0-9863361-8-8

Model image obtained for the creation of this novels cover was licensed for use from Josh McCullock photography. Cover design by Victoria Miller.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events portrayed within its pages are products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously and are not meant to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living, dead, undead, or mostly dead is purely coincidental.

To Sarah and Rachel for being such a great support.

Cori

When one runs a business, theyre always happy for more customers, but the reception area of Coris tattoo shop was packed almost beyond capacity. People sat in every available chair and even more milled around the place. Several young women stood together at the wall next to the large front windows, checking out the designs displayed there. For the last few weeks, the shop couldnt keep up with all the folks coming in to get tattoos. Cori had finally had to put in a television set so her customers had something to do while waiting their turn.

She stood behind the counter and rubbed her aching back. I cant believe how busy weve gotten lately.

Its a good thing you hired me when you did, Ginny said, standing next to her as she cashed out the latest client. Ive never done so many tattoos in such a short time.

It wasnt always this way.

Business had started picking up at the start of the New Year. It was more than welcome after a major lull before that. But by the end of January, Cori realized she and her only other employee, Asher, could not handle the workload by themselves anymore. Not to mention she was due to have a baby at the end of May and needed someone to cover for her while she took time off.

Shed interviewed several humans first, but none of them fit in well. Her criteria had been strict. They had to bring something new with their work that would attract a different set of clients, yet they couldnt stand out in a way that would draw the wrong kind of attention, and they had to be tough enough to hold their own for those times when trouble brewed. In Fairbanks, Alaskaa haven for supernaturalspeace rarely lasted long, especially since the world had found out humans werent at the top of the food chain. There were beings far more powerful and dangerous out there.

After two weeks of interviews with no luck finding a new employee, Ginny had strutted her way through the shop door, arms covered in vine and flower tattoos. Her body was petite with curves that would turn any mans head, and she had shoulder-length purple hair (her natural color) with light purple freckles on her fair cheeks. She definitely wasnt human, which didnt fit Coris rigid criteria. The pixie, a breed of fae, stood no more than 410 high and looked like a stiff breeze could knock her over. There was no way anyone would take her seriously or want her to work on them with her otherworldly appearance.

Then she produced her portfolio, which had some of the most amazing work Cori had ever seen. It was vivid and mesmerizing. Ginny had just relocated from Tulsa, Oklahoma where things were getting uncomfortable for supernaturals. She had twin daughtersAislin and Dinara. They were five years old with the same purple hair and had become targets for those who didnt care if children were young and innocent, only that they clearly werent normal. In Fairbanks, they would be more readily accepted because of the higher concentration of sups. The schools in the area comprised about ten percent of children from werewolf and fae families.

Hearing the pixies story weakened Coris resolve, especially since her daughters came along with their mother for the interview, adorable in their purple pigtails and polka dot dresses. Their mom needed to work to support them.

But what finally made the decision during the interview was when a heavyset, drunken man came into the shop. Hed demanded a tattoo right then, but they had a policy against working on intoxicated customers. Alcohol tended to make them bleed more and some regretted having the work done later, so Cori didnt allow it. He became furious when she refused him service, nearly smashing the reception counter.

Ginny couldnt have weighed more than a hundred pounds, but she picked that man up over her shoulder like he was nothing, flung the front door wide open, and threw him out onto the sidewalk. When he tried coming back into the shop, she punched him so hard he flew six feet into the air, not waking up until she tossed him into the dumpster behind the shopping center. Everyone had watched in wide-eyed shock.

She strutted back toward them and responded, I might have an eighth of troll blood in my DNA.

Trolls were ugly, vile creatures with gnarled features that stood even shorter than pixies. Most people couldnt stand them because, in addition to their unpleasant looks, they werent all that nice, and they werent very particular about their food sources. Almost anythingor anyonewas on the menu. They were gross and difficult to tolerate.

You dont look like youre part troll, Cori said after she got over her shock.

Ginny pulled her mussed hair back into a loose French braid. Luckily, all I inherited was their strength.

That was good to know.

The interview had continued, and theyd left the angry man to find his own way out of the dumpster. Hed tried pressing charges later, but the incident was caught on surveillance cameras, so the police didnt give them any trouble. Cori normally could have handled the guy, but she had to be careful now that she had a baby in her belly. She appreciated the idea of having a woman on her staff who could hold her ownhuman or notand hired Ginny on the spot.

Theyd gotten along well over the past two months since then and the shop had been expanded, using available space that had opened up next door. With a little help from supernatural friends to speed up the remodeling, they were able to add two more booths for artists to work, a separate customer bathroom apart from the small one in the back, and widen the reception area. Ginny helped through the whole process, as well as taking care of clients. Except for the rare person who had an issue with supernaturals, all their customers loved her fun nature.

A soft thump inside Coris stomach drew her attention. She rubbed her belly, marveling at how fast it was expanding since shed become pregnant four and a half months ago. This wasnt like her first pregnancy when shed only been twenty years oldwith a daughter shed lost later in a tragic accident with her ex-husband. This time she was thirty-one, and her child was only partly human. Everything felt totally different.

Cori appeared closer to seven months, but that was because the gestation period moved faster for supernatural children, particularly ones with angel blood in them. This little boy or girlshe and Bartol had chosen not to find out the gender until their child was bornwould arrive sometime at the end of May. That was a little over six weeks away. Cori was nervous, but she had a vampire doctor who was giving her the best care possible. Having said that, the last baby born with nephilim blood was over fifty years ago. They didnt have a lot of precedents to draw upon, and she doubted every pregnancy of this nature went exactly the same.