Title: Fragmented

Series: Untamed Series, #2

Author: Madeline Dyer

Publisher: Prizm Books

Release Date: September 7, 2016

Heat Level: 2 – Fade to Black Sex

Pairing: Male/Female

Length: 99,000 Words

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Thriller/Suspense, Paranormal, Post-apocalyptic

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Synopsis

After the terrible battle against the Enhanced Ones, Seven and Corin find themselves on the run. With the Enhanced closing in, Seven knows they need to find other people on their side. So, when the opportunity arises to join the Zharat, one of the last surviving Untamed tribes, it seems like the perfect solution.

But the Zharat lifestyle is a far cry from what Seven’s used to. With their customs dictating that she must marry into their tribe, and her relationship with Corin breaking down, Seven knows she has to do something before it’s too late. But that’s easier said than done in a tribe where going against the rules automatically results in death.

And, with the Enhanced still out there, nowhere is truly safe for the Untamed–least of all for the most powerful Seer in the world… and Seven soon discovers how far people will go in order to ensure that she’s on their side in the War of Humanity.

Battling against the emerging web of lies, manipulation, and danger, Seven must remember who she was meant to be. Her life has never been more at stake. Nor has humanity itself.

Excerpt

The engine stutters. But it’s just a one-off thing, and then we’re accelerating again. I breathe a sigh of relief.

Corin shifts his weight a little, keeps his arm around me. I lean into him, but I’m too tense, can’t relax. I drum my fingers against my thigh.

Then it happens again: the engine stutters, five or ten minutes later. It lasts for longer this time, and I feel the momentum of the lorry slipping away.

Manning pulls down the radio chord again, speaks into the little box. “Albran, what’s going on? Why are we—“

The lorry hurtles to a stop, jolts to the left.

I scream, whack my head against something hard, see dark spots amid whiteness.

“Sev!” Corin’s by my side, falling, but grabbing me. His fingers close around my arm, yank me up somehow.

I whirl around, choking, arms spread out, grabbing the wall. Boxes slide across the floor, throw up dust. Someone shrieks.

“What—”

The sounds of glass shattering fills my ears.

“Albran—what’s going on?”

“They’re…. the windows… they’re getting in…”

There’s a pause, a long pause. And then a scream. A male scream.

Chills run down my spine. I look up, see purple swirls through the gaps in the wagon roof.

“Run for it! Only chance…” Albran’s panting. Then we hear scraping noises. And another scream.

“Albran? Yanugh?” Manning grips the radio so tightly his knuckles go white. He’s breathing hard, something drips from his braids. Dark red. Blood?

“Get out now… in the cab, going to get in the—”

The radio cuts off, hissing.

Manning springs up, heads toward the door. No one says anything as he slides the bolt back. My heart hammers against my ribs. I feel sick.

Manning throws the door the rest of the way open.

The sky outside is deep purple, with smaller pockets of mauve. It’s different to what I’ve ever seen. The purple’s stronger. It shouldn’t be that purple—should it? I don’t know. I’ve never actually seen the middle of the Turning—if this is what one is…

But then I see the other colors. Blues, navies, reds.

I gulp.

Something moves in the sky. A dark mass, and it howls, flies toward us. A spirit. And suddenly there are so many. My mouth dries, and I’m trying to move backward, trying to move away, as far away as possible. But Corin’s in the way, and he’s not moving. He’s just a solid mass, like stone and—

A spirit dives down, toward us. I scream, and the men are shouting. And—

And the spirit flies into the lorry.

I jerk up, arms and legs barely working. I crash into the side, with Corin. Then he leans forward, grabs Esther, wrenches her to us.

The spirit hovers in the middle of the wagon. It is grotesque. Too many eyes. Semi-translucent. Lots of tendrils.

We’re all pressed against the walls. Mart whimpers.

And the spirit looks at us all, each in turn.

My heart’s too fast and my hands are clammy. I’m shaking, trying not to look at it, trying not to make contact with its many eyes, trying not to accidentally challenge it. I turn my head, see Manning still in the doorway. The light is strange; he’s silhouetted, yet he shouldn’t be.

Corin’s hand suddenly closes around mine. He’s shaking.

Everyone’s shaking.

The spirit dives forward, screaming.

It crashes into the man next to Jed. And—

Too much stuff happens at once. I can’t make it out. I hear the screams, the crying. I see the man fall. I see the spirit leap onto his body, but I can’t make its form out now. It’s all just a mass of movement.

I see the man’s foot kick out. And then—then his foot’s gone. Just gone.

My chest tightens. My forehead burns.

“Run!” Manning screams.

Corin’s hand in mine jerks, and then he’s turning, turning toward Manning. I try to follow, but my legs won’t work properly. And I can’t move my head, can’t look away from the spirit eating the man.

My eyes widen.

This isn’t just feeding. This isn’t what happened when some spirits fed from us before to get enough energy to help us in the battle against the Enhanced—no.

This is—this is destruction.

This is bad.

This is carnivorous.

This is evil.

“Just run!” the chief shouts. “We’ve a chance if we’re quick! The Turning’s only just begun. We’ve got to run for it. Now.”

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Meet the Author

Madeline Dyer lives in the southwest of England, and has a strong love for anything dystopian, ghostly, or paranormal. She can frequently be found exploring wild places, and at least one notebook is known to follow her wherever she goes. Fragmented (Prizm Books, Sept. 2016) is her second novel.