I’m not sure what I was thinking that day.

It was a normal Thursday; nothing new or exciting had occurred in the morning.

I’d risen from bed, taken a shower, and brushed my teeth. I’d then jumped on the 8:05 bus that ran a short distance between my house and the county library where I worked.

The ride took its usual 15 minutes before it left me standing fresh-faced in front of a building of gothic construction that was my favorite place in the world.

After straightening my knee-length skirt, I pushed open the door that led into the interior of the library.

It was at that moment that my world would change—impossibly and forever. It was a fateful movement of wood that collided with the shoulder of a man that would alter my very existence.

It wasn’t fear that I felt at that moment—more like the feeling of being watched. It was the feeling of knowing that danger lurks—the sensation of the hair standing on end at the back of your neck.

Looking back on a moment that happened so many months ago, I now realize that I should have listened to that feeling.

As I would later find out, the man standing in front of me referred to himself as Master Lucas…

And I was his next target.

Disclaimer: This book is intended for mature audiences only (18+) and contains explicit descriptions of violence.

Lily White