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  “Leave me alone,” she said, hating herself for the wobble at the end of the sentence.

  “She speaks!” Hunchback said.

  “Only just,” Bad-Skin mocked. “Though it was hardly worth the effort.”

  “Go away or I’ll scream for help,” Eve said, fully prepared to make good on her threat.

  “Who exactly do you think will hear you?” Hunchback said, advancing slowly.

  “Who exactly do you think will care?” Bad-Skin taunted, echoing his buddy’s words.

  Suddenly, they launched themselves at her! Hunchback grabbed hold of her wrists, twisting until they were behind her back as Bad-Skin seized her shoulders and lunged towards her. Eve struggled desperately trying to reach the door, terror constricting her throat so that all that would come out was a cracked yelp. Flashbacks of another time and another attack assaulted her, its awful memory nearly crippling her completely.

  No… this can’t be happening.

  Not again.

  They forced her away from the door until they ended up directly beneath the streetlamp. Suddenly, she saw her attacker's faces morph until their mouths grew even wider as wicked fangs sprang out from behind their lips. Their eyes also changed, the pupils narrowing into reptilian-like slits. At that moment, she knew with crystal clarity that these guys weren’t human.

  Terrified beyond all reason, Eve bucked wildly, trying to shake them loose but they had a death grip on her, their hands cutting into her skin. She looked down to see that their fingers had elongated, the nails forming into wickedly sharp talons that were drawing blood. Her blood. At the sight of it, Bad-Skin licked his lips, his eyes turning bright with hunger…

  And Eve knew that she would die.

  As the sounds of her struggle dulled, she felt the air become electric and the rush of others in her mind. She didn’t know what the “others” were exactly, she just suddenly knew she wasn’t alone. Above the grunts of her inhuman attackers came a scuttling sound that echoed off the alley walls. They heard it too as they abruptly stopped, their heads tilted to the ground where the sounds were coming from. Suddenly, streams of rats burst out from behind trash cans and boxes, running out from the surrounding air vents, then the sewers. Swarming around the guys, they scurried up their legs, crawling all over their bodies until they were one heaving, pulsating mass of rodents. Stunned, they released Eve who backed away from them.

  Then the rats started to bite.

  First one, then all of them. They burrowed inside their clothing, up along their pant legs, clawing and snapping at their naked flesh, but they left Eve alone.

  She, they protected.

  Bloody gashes appeared as the rats attacked furiously, until the two ran screaming away, the rats chasing after them leaving Eve trembling in their wake. Bolting to the street, she watched as her attackers melted into the blackness, her rodent friends still pursuing them. Flagging a taxi, she jumped inside and gave her address. Once back home, she ran into her room, slamming the door closed behind her. There in the safety of her home, she took out her phone and made the call. When Marley’s relieved voice answered, Eve spoke urgently.

  “Tell Christian I’m ready. I’m ready to learn about what I am and what I have to do.”

  Chapter 20

  With Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb out dealing with the one girl who didn’t live in the college, Michael made his way to Trinity himself, to see if he could get past the police presence. Unlike last night, it had ended up being far easier than he had imaged as the Square was empty thanks to the return of this morning’s storm.

  Lightening streaked across the sky as an answering rumble tore through the heavens. Rain poured down, soaking him to the skin, but Michael welcomed the feeling. Where he was from, the heat was arid and never-ending, so the water soaking into him was a refreshing feeling that made him tingle to the core.

  Then again, that could just be due to his nearing the search.

  As the church had recently suffered from “inexplicable” damage, its doors were now locked, the public kept away in case of falling debris. Michael stood at the front door, tossing a quick glance around the square. Other than him, there was only one poor soul, sprinting through the square holding a plastic bag over his head to shelter from the rain. He was far enough away that he wouldn’t hear what would happen next. Still, to be cautious, Michael waited until the next flash of light illuminated the scenery before smashing through the doors as easily as if they were paper.

  One door flew across the room, torn from its hinges, while the other broke in half, crashing to the ground. No one would hear it, however, the sound of his destruction covered by another crack of thunder.

  Leaves blew into the church, whipping past Michael’s legs as he made his way through the pews to an arched doorway in the back. A steep set of stone stairs spiraled downward into the darkness. Turning on a flashlight, Michael shone the light ahead of him as he worked his way down well-trodden steps. They were an original feature and lead to the basement. He knew this as he had long studied the architecture of this place, as he had with all the historical buildings in the area.

  Old buildings often held great secrets.

  His foot landed on a cobbled stone floor. Shining the flashlight down, Michael saw that the floor of the room was covered in a giant mosaic made of hand-cut stone tiles that glinted in the light.

  This was it! Excitement bubbled up, and he had to resist the urge to dance.

  He moved across the floor, studying the mosaic, which depicted an impressive army of Angels hovering in the sky on their wings, their weapons aimed down in warning to any who might be foolish enough to incur their wrath.

  He almost snorted with derision.

  Like they would ever dirty their hands long enough to fly down from their high perches. He couldn’t even think of the last time when an honest-to-God Angel had been spotted. If they had ever existed, they had long died out, which suited him just fine.

  The beam of light stopped on a face he recognized. God’s most powerful and trusted Archangel, coincidentally also named Michael. The irony did not escape him. Calling up his magic power, Michael channeled it between his hands. A swirl of energy crackled between them that he directed at the Archangel’s face. As before with the door, a large hole appeared where the Archangel’s face had been, revealing an endless pit below.

  Magic surged from the mosaic now that it had been broken, gushing into him, filling him with more power than he had ever felt before. He was awash with so much power that he was almost thrust to the floor before he was able to take it all in. As he took the time to recover, he felt the presence in his mind.

  “You have done well,” it said in that low, rumbling voice that terrified even him.

  “Thank you,” Michael said, pride making his chest swell. “One of five.”

  “One of five,” the voice in his mind repeated.

  C hristian watched helplessly as the girls Facetimed Eve, trying to comfort her as she relayed what had happened. By her description, he knew exactly who had attacked her.

  Demons.

  She had escaped this time. The next, maybe they wouldn’t be so lucky. The girls were ready to listen now, to find out what they needed to do. Having finished relating her tale, they waited for her to have a moment to catch herself when the room was suddenly painted in an eerie red light.

  They moved towards the window to see it wasn’t just the room, but the entire city that now sat under a cloud of red. There in the sky, the full moon loomed before them, but under this strange light, the distant planetoid looked red.

  “What’s going on?” Marley asked nervously.

  Seeing the Blood Moon, Christian had to swallow his fear. The time for guessing had passed. He knew what Michael was up to now.

  And he was terrified.

  “It’s beginning…”

  T his is the end of book 2. Continue the story now with SEE NO EVIL!

  AFTERWORD

  Twisted is a television series that I ha
ve been trying to make for coming up to eight years now.

  I created it soon after my television series Spirit Warriors aired.

  At one point I even had one of the producers behind one of the biggest film franchises in the world attached. We were trying to get it set up in the States but for a variety of reasons, it just didn’t happen.

  In all this time, and after so many other projects, I still haven’t been able to let this one go. I believe in these girls and their troubles and I believe there are others out there who want to hear their story. Outside of the supernatural shenanigans are the problems so many girls face today. I know, because each of these girls is a part of me in some way.

  I wasn’t one of the popular girls at school.

  I was very overweight — one of the side effects of coming from a troubled background. I was bullied from students and a staff member who took great joy in belittling me in front of the whole class on a regular basis until I learned to be terrified of attending those classes.

  I was also the girl who couldn’t bear to look at herself in the mirror as she saw nothing but ugliness, which wasn’t surprising as that is what the world repeatedly told me I was.

  And I was the girl who looked for validation in all the wrong places.

  So this series is important to me as I know there are millions of girls out there who felt the same way I did. The ones who aren’t “perfect”. The ones who are outcasts, misfits, geeks — to them I say, know that you are unique and special. Stay true to yourself and great things can and will come.

  If you’d like to help me make this into a TV series, please leave your reviews for these books and help spread the word. The more love there are for these books and the more demand there is for this show, the more likely it is to happen.

  My thanks go to my wonderful proof reader and grammar guru, Janice Harris for her support and insightful work. Thank you also to the fabulous Harold Trammel whose notes aren’t only perceptive but an utter joy to read. Last but not least, thank you to Dawn C. D. Harrison and Simon Richardson who cast their critical and much-needed eyes over proceedings. I’m so grateful to you all.

  And finally as always, to my love Matt who brings joy to each and every day.

  - Jo

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  A proud geek and video gamer, and champion of complex female protagonists, Jo brings her page-turning screenwriting style to books to weave well-crafted, suspenseful stories with twists you don't see coming.

  A self-taught screenwriter, Jo’s writing life began when she created the ground-breaking, critically acclaimed CBBC action fantasy television series, "Spirit Warriors," which introduced leading actress, Jessica Henwick ("Game of Thrones," "Star Wars: The Force Awakes") to the screen. Granted the biggest budget ever given to a CBBC show at the time, it was nominated for "Best Children’s Program" at the 2011 Broadcast Awards, with Jo herself, going on to win the Women in Film & Television’s "New Talent" Award in 2010. Jo even made history for being the first East Asian person — man or woman — to have created a British television drama series.

  Since then, Jo has worked with some of the most acclaimed producers in the world with several television shows and movies currently in development. It is her dream to bring her Twisted series to screen and she believes she can make it happen with her readers' help!

  Jo lives in London and hopes one day to travel across America in a super kitted out, Zombie-apocalypse-ready RV, with her lovely fella, Matt, and three equally lovely kitties.

  Sign up to her mailing list for updates, book release details and offers at www.johoscribe.com

  Join Jo’s Newsletter to be first to hear about her books.

  For a complete list of Jo’s books, visit her website.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Afterword

  About the Author