“Hello, Christopher, thank you for agreeing to this interview.”
“Prego.” Christopher shakes my hand, sending shivers up my arm,
his Italian accent delicious. But it’s not his accent that leaves me gaping
like a star struck fool. Although he’s younger than me, eighteen to my
twenty-four years, I find myself inexplicably attracted to him. He is stunningly
beautiful, his jet black hair framing angelic features. Though, his cocky
expression is definitely not angelic, along with the fire tattoos covering his muscular
arms and the sexy gold ring piercing his bottom lip.
He flicks his tongue over the ring, the following smirk alerting me to
the fact he’s caught me staring at it. Embarrassed, I quickly look down at my
interview questions, hoping my face isn’t as red as my hair.
“I hear that you’re in a relationship.” I look back up at him, completely jealous of his girlfriend. “What is your other half’s name and how did you meet her?”
“I hear that you’re in a relationship.” I look back up at him, completely jealous of his girlfriend. “What is your other half’s name and how did you meet her?”
He smiles, his whole face lightening up at the question. "Her name
is Catherine Lovich. I first met her at my confirmation class, but didn’t get
the chance to talk to her until the following day, when my imbecile of a cousin
almost ran her over. I went to help her, but she rebuffed my aid, basically
telling me to get lost in rather rude terms.” His smile widened.
“But I won her
over.”
“It’s not hard to see why.”
He leans forward, his eyes locking onto mine. “And why is that?”
“Because you’re...” I clear my throat, embarrassed by my answer.
“Beautiful.”
He snorts out an amused laugh and leans back in his chair, giving me an
arrogant smirk.
“True.”
His reply throws me off. I didn’t expect him to agree with me; I
expected him to dismiss my observation, acting humble instead of cocky.
He raises an eyebrow as if to tell me to hurry up with the interview
questions, that he’d much rather be doing other things than talking to me.
Feeling a touch aggrieved, I glance back down at my sheet. "What
attracted you to your girlfriend?”
“You want me to sugar coat my answer or to speak frankly?”
“Frankly.”
He runs his tongue over his lip ring, the glint in his dark eyes more
demonic than angelic.
“Catherine’s incredibly sexy. She has gorgeous long white
hair, the face of an angel, the eyes of a chameleon, and the tongue of a devil,
and a body I would commit sin to touch.”
“Well, that is a rather...” I clear my throat again, Christopher probably
thinking I had a cold, “frank reply.”
He smiles wide, the wicked look on his face making me wonder what’s
running through his mind. Whatever it was, it was definitely not PG.
“Um...” I say, feeling like a school girl with an embarrassing crush. "You
mentioned that you initially didn’t get along with Catherine. Were there other
bumps in the journey to you two becoming boyfriend and girlfriend?”
He nods. “I got upset with her when I thought she was a Siren.”
“What do you mean by a Siren?”
“The demon water creatures who woo the opposite sex to their deaths.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Pardon?”
He frowns. “Why do you look so shocked?”
I bite back a grimace, realising I’d slipped up, my cover as a reporter
for the Merge Chronicle now at risk
of being exposed. “I wasn’t sure I heard you right,” I adlib, hoping he believed
me.
Contrary to what I’d told him, I worked for a covert agency, one who was
trying to prove that supernatural beings were real, something we thought we
could do through Christopher. The tip-off we’d gotten about him being an angel was
looking like a strong possibility, his ethereal looks and his knowledge giving
me the hope he was the real deal.
“And Marises aren’t always demons,” I add, mentioning what I’d read in
the Merge Chronicles, a journal my
boss had found in Rome.
Christopher relaxes, looking like he’s bought my cover up. “I didn’t
realise that Marises could also be angels. After what happened to me, I assumed
they were all demons.”
“What happened to you?”
He shifts about in his chair, for the first time looking uncomfortable.
“A Maris demon tortured me, carving angel wings into my back.”
I go silent, taken aback by what he’d said.
“Don’t ask me to show you the scars,” he continues, “because I won’t.”
I shake my head, not even dreaming of asking him to expose himself like
that. “Of course. I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable about it.”
He doesn’t reply. His attention instead shifts to the window, giving the
impression he’s thinking about what was done to him. I shiver at the thought of
a demon brutalising such a beautiful being. It makes me want to wrap him in
cotton wool so no one could hurt him ever again. I frown, not understanding why
I would feel that way, especially since my job was to expose him, not to
protect him.
I dismiss my strange thoughts, quickly moving on with the interview: “I
was told by a source that your family hates your girlfriend.”
His gaze returns to me, his brown eyes turning black, anger radiating
off him. From his reaction, I gather I’ve hit a raw nerve, my source obviously
correct.
I push on, “Why do they hate her?” I ask, wanting to confirm everything
that the informant had said.
“They think she’s a Maris demon,” he replies. “My famiglia are Seraphim. They hate Marises.”
I nod, having read about the Seraphim, otherwise known as the fire angels—and
demons. The sudden thought that Christopher
could be a demon crosses my mind. Demons were supposedly just as beautiful
as angels, their true natures hidden beneath a magical facade.
He quirks a questioning brow at me. “Why are you acting so nervous?”
I swallow, trying to think of something quick so he doesn’t suspect I’m
an imposter. “I’m intensely attracted to you.” Not a lie.
His frown depends. “While I’m not to you?” He cocks his head to the side,
giving me a thorough onceover, causing the flush to extend down my neck. He
points a finger at me “There’s something not quite right about you, something
missing.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I reply, wishing he would stop staring at
me like that, his eyes incredibly intrusive.
“You don’t act like a Merge,” he answers, mentioning his kind. Merges
were the descendants of angels and demons, supernatural beings who could
manipulate the four elements of water, fire, air, and earth.
“I’m a weak Merge,” I counter, “my ability not strong.”
He shakes his head. “Or more likely you’re pretending to be a Merge.”
I sit up straighter. “I am not.”
“Then why do you give of human vibes? Although you’re beautiful enough
to be a Merge, you lack something.” He points his finger at me again. “Magnetism. Sì, that’s what it is. Even though I’m in love with Catherine and
would never cheat on her, I should still feel a magnetic pull towards you, even
a minor one. But I feel nothing. And the only time that happens is if the
person’s human.”
“I’m not human!” I snap, faking my annoyance to hide my fear. “I’m like
you. A Seraphim.”
He shoots out of his chair, the suddenness causing it to fall to the
ground. “You are lying to me!”
My eyes widen. “No, I’m not. I am a
Seraphim.”
“Seraphim is plural. If you were truly one of my kind you’d say a Seraph. You also would have brown, not
green eyes. Only Terra Merges have green eyes.”
He steps closer, causing me to shrink back into my chair, his posture
now threatening, the boy looking like he wanted to burn me alive. My eyes widen
further as flames ignite in his right hand, my thoughts now a very real
possibility, especially since the informant had warned me that Merges were willing
to kill to keep their people a secret.
I shake my head vigorously. “I really am a Seraph; I’m just wearing
contact lenses.”
He leans his face down to mine, his hot breath tickling my flesh. “Contact
lenses can’t hide a Merge’s true eye colour,” he growls, “which means you are lying.”
I start shaking uncontrollably. “Please don’t hurt me, I’m just a
reporter,” I blurt out, not willing to confess my true identity, afraid it
would endanger my life even more.
“For who?”
“The Supernatural Times,” I
say, praying he believed me, the
flames in his hand making me sweat.
Letting out an annoyed huff, he closes his hand, instantly putting out
the flames, only the smell of smoke lingering. He reaches into his shirt and
pulls out a stunning red rosary, touching one of the beads on it.
“You will forget what we’ve spoken about?” he says.
I blink, wondering who the beautiful boy standing in front of me is, and
how he’d appeared so suddenly. “Who are you?” I ask.
He smiles. “No one.” He turns and walks out of the room, leaving me
staring at the door.
The End.
Please note:
All characters, names, places, and incidents in this interview are either the
product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any
resemblance to actual events, locales, or real persons, living or dead, is
entirely coincidental.
Stella
Maris
The
Legendary Rosaries
Book
One
Marita
A. Hansen
Genre: YA Fantasy, PNR.
Date of Publication: September
29, 2017.
ISBN: 9781548606749
ASIN: B073R5DB6J
Number of pages: 320 pdf
Word Count: 117342
Cover Artist: We Got You Covered
Book Design.
Book Description:
At her first Confirmation lesson,
Catherine Lovich is given a beautiful rosary known as the Stella Maris. Unaware
of the danger attached to it, she accepts the gift, soon discovering that each
bead on the rosary holds a unique power, powers that only Merges can use.
Descended from angels and demons, Merges have the innate ability to manipulate
the elements as well as bring the past to the present through dreams.
After meeting Christopher Laboure
on her first day back at Agnaru High, Catherine learns that the arrogant but
heavenly-looking boy is a Merge—like herself. But unlike Catherine, Christopher
is a Seraph, a Merge who controls the fire beads.
When a heated kiss goes wrong,
Christopher finds out that Catherine is wearing the Stella Maris—the water
rosary his grandfather wants to destroy.
Along with its owner.
STELLA
MARIS will transport you into a realm where nothing is what it seems and
everything holds hidden danger.
Teaser
Excerpt 2:
Catherine lowered her head to
look straight at him, her eyes completely blue, no pupils, only a sea of hate.
Then out of nowhere, wings of water shot out of her back. Both me and my father
gasped, what we were seeing only spoken of in myths and legends... ~Chris.
SOME
FACTS ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
NATIONALITY: I am a New Zealander
with Croatian heritage.
SPORTS: As a teenager my
favourite sports were karate, badmington, and running. I also did unarmed
combat and played in a touch rugby team (my gym teacher made me do the last
one!) Now, I stick to coaching soccer and running. I have completed two
marathons, numerous half-marathons and one 30K run.
CAREER PATH: I started off as a
Graphic Designer, then went to Auckland University, where I got a BA degree in
Art History and Italian Studies and a post-graduate Honours degree in Art
History. I worked in the Art History field, then became a full-time artist,
doing commissions. I eventually lost all of my senses and gave it up to be a
writer :)
BAD HABITS: I'm a major
procrastinator, I stay up way too late writing, and I get distracted easily
unless it's doing something I love.
STATUS: Married to my high school
sweetheart (which he hates me calling him). We have two kids.
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Marita-A-Hansen-113130742120676/
Amazon Author: https://www.amazon.com/Marita-A.-Hansen/e/B005H5W79K
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