Meet The Author
Meet Kristy Kay I’m Kristy Kay, indie fantasy author, worldbuilder, lifelong dreamer, and creator of The Guardians Series. I write emotionally charged fantasy filled with ancient
The heavy oak door slammed behind Breagha Aria as she took a deep breath of the clean night air. She leaned back against the door, letting the night close around her. She appreciated the darkness after the lights of the bar; the stillness of the night after working all day bustling back and forth serving rowdy customers. She looked across the street to the military gardens which had a statue from every war or armed conflict the United States had been involved in. The cool night air mixed with the warmer ground created a clinging fog that gave the soldiers, in their eternal vigil, a more haunted image than usual. Bréagha shuddered as images of zombies creeping out from behind those statues ran through her mind.
“No more damn Walking Dead before bed. Aiden will just have to find a new bedtime story.” She shook her head and laughed at her ridiculousness before straightening and locking the door behind her. The Phoenix Rising Bar started as a childhood dream shared between two orphans who only had those dreams and each other to get through the nightmare foster system. The door, which Aiden had hand carved, had the image of a phoenix in the foreground and a beautiful garden with numerous other beasts behind it. Bréagha ran her fingers over the phoenix’s feathers like she did every night, then turned to walk up the stairs on the side of the building.
Just as she reached the steps, she thought she saw movement out of the corner of her eye and swung around, but all she saw was the normal shadows. She shook her head again. “Seriously, no more Walking Dead.” She started slowly climbing the wrought iron steps, her mind on a nice hot shower, slipping between her cool sheets and laying her head down on her pillow. Halfway up the steps she felt, rather than saw, movement behind her and turned just as a shadow detached itself from the darkness and shot towards her, hand like claws reaching for her.
Bréagha gasp-screamed and turned to run up the rest of the steps. As she reached the landing, Aiden flung the door open in response to her scream and she tried to run inside, just as the shadow grabbed her hair and pulled her back. She spun and kicked out like she was taught in the self-defense courses Aiden made her take. She caught something solid and heard an oomph as the shadow fell back but all she saw was deeper black against the night sky. Aiden grabbed her, pulled her into the apartment, and slammed the door behind her. There were several bangs against the door as whatever that thing was, tried to get in. Suddenly, there were three distinct thumps as if something had landed on the steps from above, followed by more bangs, some groans, one very loud “Motherfucker!” then an eerie silence.
Aiden and Bréagha stared at each other wide eyed, neither wanting to move in case whatever was out there heard them. Aiden put a finger to his mouth before slowly inching toward the door to look through the peephole. Just as his eye got to the small hole a knock rang out. He screeched and jumped back into Bréagha who pushed him off her, causing him to stumble back into the door just as another knock sounded. Bréagha couldn’t help a giggle as Aiden jumped again and fell on his ass.
“Bréagha Aria?” A gruff voice sounded from the other side of the door, and it was Bréagha’s turn to screech. Aiden climbed to his feet and pressed his face against the peep hole giving a gasp when he saw the three big men standing on the other side. He turned from the door with a deer in the headlights look, and Bréagha tiptoed over to see the cause. She too gasped when she saw who was on the other side of the door. She turned to look at Aiden with the same confused-terrified look that he wore. It was her turn to put her finger to her mouth and make the shh sound as they both backed away silently.
Another knock sounded. “Bréagha Aria and Aiden Michaels? We aren’t here to hurt you and would really appreciate being let in before those things come back.” This voice was slightly different than the other had been, not as deep and gruff but still demanding. Aiden stepped towards the door and Bréagha grabbed his arm, shaking her head vehemently.
“Seriously, you guys. Those shadows are a bitch to fight on stairs, can literally come from any shadow and since hello! all of this is shadow it’s not a great place to be.” That must be the last one, his voice was a lot milder with a hint of an accent. Aiden stepped closer, pulling Bréagha with him and pushing her behind him as he opened the door. The three men hurried inside, and Aiden slammed the door closed behind them, hurrying to slam all three locks in place. Then him and Bréagha turned to face their visitors.
All three men wore black fatigues and combat boots. The biggest one and obviously the leader of the group just had a long-sleeved black shirt on with his fatigue pants. He was at least six and a half feet tall with black hair pulled into a low manbun at the back of his neck. He had piercing silver eyes that flickered over Bréagha and Aiden, then surveyed the rest of their surroundings. The man standing to the right of the larger man was also over six feet but a few inches shorter. He had wavy blonde hair and bright green eyes. He wore a black leather jacket over a black t-shirt with his fatigues. He moved to stand by the window to the back of the apartment that overlooked the river behind the bar. The last guy was just as tall as his companions at over six feet, he had short auburn hair, long on top for unruly curls and dark chocolate brown eyes. He smiled at Bréagha and Aiden before heading toward the windows overlooking the front of the bar and the military gardens. He wore a t-shirt with his fatigues that showed his broad chest and biceps. All three men were built and looked like soldiers.
"Tell them the magic of a newborns laugh story! Works every time!"
