Hell's Phoenix Deleted Scene

Petra has become a staple in the Road to Hell series and I've been told several times how much she's loved by readers. She's always getting along cozily with everyone, but here's a scene that showcases sometimes Madison's step-daughter rankles her nerves. I took the scene out because the book was already too long and it wasn't necessary for the story line. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: This scene is unedited and was removed from the book prior to submitting Hell's Phoenix to my publisher, Decadent Publishing.

A visual of how I see Petra

Madison stared at her demon step-daughter and counted to ten. Twice. It didn’t help. She slid the knife Nix had given her for her thirtieth birthday out of its holster, adjusted the hilt lightly between her fingers and thumb and threw it when Petra looked away. As always her accuracy was spot-on and the blade whacked into Petra’s chest directly over her black heart.

Petra gasped. The wound wouldn’t kill her, but Madison  knew it stung like a son-of-a-bitch.

She’d heard somewhere once that stabbings were emotional attacks. Emotional fit her present mood. The demonic bitch knew she wouldn’t be coming back from Hell. If anyone was going to get fucked, it’d be her by her demon ex. So, Petra’s comment could be construed as nothing but a sly goad. And her son was present in the room while Petra talked so casually about them fucking. Unacceptable!

“Momma!” Amos squealed as she stepped over the coffee table where their chess set was spread out.

“Ouch,” Alessa remarked. “Bet that hurts.”

“Another game, Amos,” Zen asked, tone unmoved.

Amos spoke to her instead of Zen. “You can’t go around stabbing people, Momma. It’s not okay. Not even when you’re mad at them.”

“She’s been out of society too long,” Zen remarked.

Blood coated Petra’s hands and her grip slipped when she tried to pull the weapon from her chest.

“She’s not a person, sweetie.” Madison knocked Petra’s hand aside, wrapped her fingers around the hilt and leaned toward the other woman.

“Ichnay,” she whispered just to torment her step-daughter and like a good little demon she went limp, obeying the command to submit to her queen. The knife made a squishy sucking sound as Madison pulled it out of Petra’s chest. “Don’t fuck with me, Petra.” Petra grimaced from the scrape of metal snagging along a rib on the exit out. “My mood deteriorated four months ago when your daddy dragged Nix to Hell.” Madison cleaned the black blood off the dagger on the demon’s clothes. “Use some social skills. My son is in the room while you’re discussing intimate acts.”

“He knows what sex is,” Petra rasped.

“Of course he does because I talked to him about it, but—” she slipped into telepathy—talking about me fucking Nix in front of Amos isn’t acceptable. Do it again and you’ll become intimate friends with my blade. Got it.

The demon nodded quickly, and kept her voice low, “Understood.”

© Gracen Miller 2010-2012 ~ No part of this site (written or artwork) may be reproduced in anyway whatsoever without express written consent by Gracen Miller.

Destiny Redeemed Blog Tour

The creation of a story that's entirely unique is one of the most enjoyable facets of being an author. As a paranormal romance author, that creation often includes fantastic plots and characters who can do any number of things we humans can't.  For my Destined Ones stories, Stolen Destiny and Destiny Redeemed, I created beings called Aeveren who are very much like humans but possess special powers far beyond what humans possess.

All Aeveren enjoy the power of reincarnation. Each Aeveren man and woman lives fifty lifetimes before moving on. What they are in each life changes with the hand of fate. One lifetime can see a man as a ruler of millions, and the next lifetime can see him a pauper. Fate is fickle like that.

In addition to the gift of reincarnation, all Aeveren have some power after their twentieth lifetime. Some, like the hero in Destiny Redeemed, a man named Amon Kalins, were born with their powers in their first lifetime.  Amon has a plethora of powers, most of which he's used to do less-than-wonderful things in his forty-seven lifetimes. Trust me. He very much belongs in Nil, Aeveren prison, as the book begins.  Amon's been a bad boy. As a tempuster—someone who can manipulate time—he can travel back and forth in time, make it slow down for those around him, make it speed up, or make it stop entirely.  As a rule, most of his time manipulation throughout his existence has involved changing events to suit his liking by going back in time.  He doesn't really travel in time so much as control time. 

In addition, Amon can read minds and if he's so inclined, insert ideas in another's mind. Such abilities have made him incredibly powerful, even among a race of beings that all seem to possess some power or another.

Thea, the heroine in Destiny Redeemed, is a woman who's been given the gift of healing. Unlike Amon, her power is entirely good.  She has no other abilities other than the ability to heal her people, but as an Aeveren healer, she is very much a powerful being. But Thea's powers are limited. If a soul is meant to leave this Earth and move on to the next lifetime, there is nothing she can do to stop it.

For forty-five lifetimes, Thea has essentially been alone.  Aeveren healers rarely get to enjoy the last gift of being Aeveren—the gift of a destined one, a soul mate. But finally it seems in this lifetime fate has remembered her and given her someone: Amon. However, remember the course of true love never ran smoothly, and for them to be together, Amon will have to be more than the manipulative man he's been for so long. After forty-seven lifetimes, it may not be possible to be someone so entirely different, even if it's for a woman like Thea. 

CONTEST

Leave a comment WITH A VALID EMAIL ADDRESS and one winner will win swag with bookmarks of all Gabrielle's books.

But that's not all! There is another contest running on the Dark Mind Blog Tour site (for US residents only) and the prize is a $10 Amazon gift card for ONE lucky winner. Click HERE  (and scroll to bottom of the post) for details and to enter.

Hellhound Hat Contest

This is my first try at making a Hellhound Hat. It's a tan color and not white. And it's not my favorite creation, but I have one to give away. The design has been altered, so you'll be the only one with a hat like this--except for me--if you win. I can sign it if you want--or not--it's up to you! If you're interested in winning it, enter the Rafflecopter contest below. There are daily to-do's for extra entries, but they're not mandatory.

Deleted Scene from Hell's Phoenix

The following scene was deleted because Hell's Phoenix had became too long and needed to be shortened. This scene is right after Mads and Nix's tsunami war and right before the Sherlock bar incident. Obviously, it's not been professionally edited!

I'd love to hear your thoughts...

♥♥♥♥♥

“Why are you here?” Micah asked as he stepped out of the portal from Hell.

Since entering Hell and accepting the benefits of his covenant, Nix had grown to understand the appeal Madison once coveted for the King. The fallen angel could be ruthlessly charming and with a common goal, they got along as thick as thieves.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about Mads.” Nix flicked his fingers through the fur of the dog stretched out across his lap and let loose a burst of power. The pooch jerked to life and whined. Just as quickly, he took the canine’s life away. “What if I’m wrong, Micah? What if she’s not alive? This hope inside me hurts. I—” He shook his head and repeated the life and death process with the furry animal.

Micah peered at the Alabama home he and Madison once lived in as a married couple. The same residence Nix spent three months falling in love with her.

“Hope is like a heartbeat inside me.” The dog’s heartbeat pulsed beneath Nix’s hand. “But it can be extinguished as quickly as it’s born.” He jerked the life from the animal.

“Why do you torture the canine, Phoenix?”

After setting his plan into motion to lure Mads out of Zen’s protective custody—if she lived as he believed she did—she’d been so heavily on his mind he needed to be near her. At the very least someplace that he’d once cohabitated with her.

The animal had been dead in the street when he came out of the portal. He’d picked the mutt up and proceeded to practice his mojo. Not out of a necessity to torture the creature, but the more he employed his Messianic power, the more fluid it became to manipulate. If Mads were alive, she wouldn’t join them willingly. It would take time and lots of his magic to convince her to stay with them.

“I’m practicing.” Nix shoved another bubble of magic into the dog before setting him on his feet. A wobble as if the canine were newly birthed, but a second later, the animal bolted.

“What makes you so convinced Madison is alive?”

Nix propped his feet on the railing. “I’ve already told you why.”

“I know the taste of her intimately, and all I tasted was salt water in the tsunami. This is Zennyo Ruyo fucking with us, Phoenix.”

“You sampled her before she started jacking into her demonic side. She’s different now. Our first kiss, she tasted like fear and innocence. Then you shoved Pandora’s Box inside her and she had a spicy tang, a darkness that didn’t fit her personality. In the hotel room, there was fear, but not for herself, for me. The innocence was there too, but when she climaxed, I felt her, the presence of her soul and the grandeur of how far she’d fallen. The power she’d already accepted.” Micah bristled and looked away. At odd moments the fallen struggled with Nix’s sexual knowledge of Mads. “I don’t know how to describe it better than that, Micah. Do you even realize how much she’s accepted her succubus? The irony is she’s becoming what you wanted even though she did it to keep from being what you wanted.” Nix rose from his chair and approached Micah. “I’m certain she lives. Don’t pretend for a moment she won’t fight us when we find her.”

“I wish I felt your certainty, lover.” Micah swiped his fingers through his chin-length hair. Nix reached out and adjusted a stray strand that cocked at an odd angle. The King turned his face into Nix’s palm and he caressed Micah’s cheek. “She’s too vital to me to hope as much as you do, Phoenix.”

Micah sounded so forlorn, Nix grabbed him by his nape and tried to comfort him by touching their foreheads together. “Losing her was never an option for me, Micah.”

Micah kissed him, evoking a response Nix would’ve despised four months ago. “I hope she’s alive, Phoenix. Sharing her death with you made it easier to bear.”

“If I’m right”—Nix felt certain that he was—“sharing Mads will construct a magnificent future for us.”

The Para-Posse: Fangs Over Fur! An All-Important Paranormal Debate...

The Para-Posse: Fangs Over Fur! An All-Important Paranormal Debate...: By Laura Kaye I’ve had a love affair with vampires that goes back to my teenage years and Lestat de Lioncourt. I’m a fangbanger. I run...

The Para-Posse: Parahuman Fact or Fiction? ...

The Para-Posse: Parahuman Fact or Fiction? ...: So much of the compelling paranormal fiction of old and new, is based on the premise of Parahuman existence. According to Wikipedia, “a para...

Tattoo Tuesday

Welcome to Tattoo Tuesday! I love ink and thought I should showcase some Hellhound ink. When I run out of Hellhound ink, I'll start nabbing photos of tattoos I love from the internet. So, if you have some ink you want me to share, email it to me at roadtohellseries@gmail.com.


First up...

Hellhound Jeremy Rodden

He had the phoenix inked on him to commemorate his rebirth after a failed suicide attempt!

Meet Jeremy HERE.

OMG! I'm on the Road to Hell!!

OMG! I'm on the Road to Hell!!!

Enter Contest Below...

Creatura by Nely Cab Contest

Nely Cab has some awesome Creatura swag and she sent me some extras to give away! I have two extra pens and signed bookmarks (pictured in the photo below--NO coveting my postcard and business card!!! lol)? Enter through the Rafflecopter for your chance to win!

I Love Books: Pandora's Box by Gracen Miller

JR Ward should take lessons from me...and while I don't really agree with that statement, it's what I Love Books: Pandora's Box by Gracen Miller said about Pandora's Box in her review. Check it out by clicking the link!

Hellish Poem Winners

Here are the winning poems from the Hellish Poem entries...if you didn't win, it wasn't because your poem wasn't awesome. There were many fantastic poems, but I was looking for something that fit the story line. Some didn't come even close to connecting with the story, but would've made great general hell poems.

Winner One

In the light, you see in me

All that I should be

In the dark, you cannot see

What I really want to be

by Mindy "fangedmom" Janicke

(Note: Will be used as lyrics in the story.

Mindy named the band Devideus.)

Winner Two

Genesis Queen

The Key to destiny

Lies within Prophecy

Foretelling of death

Through betrayal, deceit, and mutiny

Strength comes from a mistrusted King

Sacrifices made, bloodshed, and battles ring

Souls tortured

Hope fleeting

In the midst of War

A Queen will rise to the bar

Life begins with love

Igniting like a newly born star

By Kathryn Grimes ~ TSK TSK What to Read

Winner Three 

Ode to Beliel

An Angel fallen 
Wings of blue 
A tortured soul 
Torn in two

His search is ended 
A heart is stolen 
An empty space 
Now is swollen

Bound to Earth 
A plan in place 
He seeks redemption 
For Heaven's grace

She's everything he 
Hoped she'd be 
Visions again of
The Royal We

But things are rarely 
As they appear 
Is there someone else 
That he should fear

A delicate balance where 
Trust must hinge 
When veins run 
Red for revenge

A Queen will rise 
A house will fall 
He contemplates 
He makes his call

His need pushed to 
The back of his head 
One misstep 
They'll all be dead

By Shelley Bunnell

Winners of Hellish Poem Contest

The Hellish poem contest can be found HERE. I had over 20 poems submitted for this contest. Many of them damn good. However, many did not relate to the story line as well as I'd hoped. Thanks to ALL of you for participating in this contest. Y'all are a very talented group of folks!

There were 3 poems that really hit the nail on the head with Genesis Queen's story line. So I have decided to use ALL 3 of those poems in various ways in the book. The winning poets are:

Mindy fangedmom--her poem will be used as lyrics in the book.

Shelley Bunnell

Kathryn Grimes

Congrats, ladies!

Huggles,
Gracen

Winners of Going to Hell Contest

The Going to Hell Contest <---click to be taken to contest link to remember some of the stuff you might win--contest winners have been announced. They are Mindy fangedmon and S.Brentson! Congrats, ladies! I have contacted you both and look forward to hearing from you soon. 


Thanks to all the others who participated in the contest. 


Huggles,
Gracen