The Last Seer
by Cerece Rennie Murphy
by Cerece Rennie Murphy
The Seers face the ultimate challenge in The Last Seer, the third and final book in the Order of the Seers trilogy.
When the fall of one nemesis unleashes an even greater danger into the world, Lilli, Joel and the Lost Seers must stand against a new enemy with the means and the will to destroy all of mankind, starting with those they hold most dear.
As the Seers mobilize to confront this new evil, the Guild tries desperately to uphold the crumbling world order on which it depends. When their attempts to manage the crisis fail, the members of the Guild are forced to place themselves at the mercy of an unlikely ally.
But the Guild isn’t the only one interested in maintaining control.
An agreement made in secret threatens to destroy any hope of a peaceful alliance before it can be made and as the betrayals unfold, no one is safe against a power that will stop at nothing to get what it wants. To defeat this threat and ensure the survival of the human race, the Seers must push the boundaries of their abilities beyond any limits they have known and risk crossing the line between life and death.
How far would you go to protect what matters most?
Praise for The Last Seer
"Once enemies the Seers and Guild now have to come together to end a new reign of terror... I can’t say too much as I was already kindly scolded on Twitter for my excitement of the book..., so what I will say is the book series closes with much praise, “That each of us is infinite and capable of wonders.” --- Reviewed by Black Girl Nerd
Excerpt from THE LAST SEER
Prologue
The Cover of Darkness
Bamiyan Province, Afghanistan
The high-pitched wail of the creatures was deafening as their black wings beat against the red sky. From the caves scraped out of the mountainside, the valley looked desolate, a place of ruin. Beasts ruled the heavens as the damned lay broken below.
And in between, Ghazal, and what was left of her village, huddled, trapped between two hells.
Whether anyone else in the world was aware of what was happening to them, Ghazal had no way of knowing. With the preparations for her dowry, her family didn't have the money to replace their old TV when it died and the radio they had was gone-smashed to pieces in the rush to escape the creatures that now held them confined in their cave.
Barely half an hour before, while the watchmen were catching their first glimpse of something on the horizon, Ghazal's neighbors had only just entered her home, carrying news of strange sightings from around the world-Geneva, London, Paris-places she had read about, but was sure she would never see.
Though at first their forms were little more than blotches against the setting sun, the screeching sounds that echoed before them erased any question in the watchmen's minds about the nature of what approached. Whatever it was meant them harm. They sounded the alarm. Her betrothed, her father, and all the other men of the valley ran forth to set a perimeter and face the threat head on.
The clerics, the women, and the children were left behind to run and endure as best they could. It was just as in her vision.
At the time, Ghazal had called after the men wildly, telling them it was useless, but no one listened. She had to be dragged away in her grief as she saw her vision unfold-bodies thrown, fires burning, and the sound of bones crushed under the weight of merciless feet.
Clarity came at the mouth of the precipice. She looked back at those who had carried and comforted her up the mountain one last time before stepping out onto the cliff's edge. The blue draping of her burka billowed and soared in the hot air as she leapt off into the unsuspecting clutches of a beast that had no hope of surviving what she could do.
Chapter 1: Set in Motion
They drove back to Geneva in silence, each consumed by the dread of what was to come. Occasionally, you could hear the soft vibration of Joel's thumb tapping his phone screen as he made arrangements for a plane to take them back to London, but
otherwise, no one made a sound. Though unspoken, each of them understood that they were listening for the screeching sounds that had been echoing in their ears ever since they left Crane's castle.
"I'm sorry," Lilli finally said to no one in particular as she stared out of the backseat window. Joel tried to bring her closer into his one-armed embrace, but she resisted,
feeling unworthy of the comfort.
"You did everything you could, Lilli. Everything," Joel whispered.
"Yeah. Maybe I did too much. Look at what's happened. There are more, you know, so many more. 'Legions', he said, and I can feel them. I know Maura can too, like a darkness spreading."
"This wasn't your fault," Joel tried again, but his words made no difference.
"He was their leader. He kept them...contained," Lilli continued. "But now...I've unleashed them. They follow no one."
"How do you know this?" Joel asked. He had no choice but to focus on her words. Her mind was moving too fast for him to comprehend.
Lilli turned from the window to face him. For an instant, she wondered why he didn't know the answer, just as she did. But then she felt it, the incongruence in their thoughts.
For the first time since they'd met, she realized that her consciousness had become somehow separate from his, and the new distance hurt her deeply.
"Because I know." Lilli answered with tears burning in her eyes.
As Joel watched them run silently down her cheeks, he understood what she was trying to tell him. From the place she now inhabited, she could sense them clearly. She could see and understand more than she ever had before.
It won't be long, he thought. I will join you whenever we decide.
Lilli nodded her head slightly after shooting a quick glance at Liam in the driver's seat.
Closing her eyes, Lilli willed her thoughts to slow until she could feel her connection with Joel restored.
Yes, she answered in relief, after we tell him. We'll wait until then.
Having resolved at least one of the many problems that plagued her mind, Lilli finally allowed herself the comfort of Joel's embrace. She'd just begun to release the tension in her body when Liam spoke up.
From the driver's seat, Liam had been listening in on their conversation, hoping to glean something that would explain what they'd witnessed. But just as she and Joel had finally gotten to the heart of his questions, they fell silent. As the quiet stretched on, Liam risked an impatient glance in the rear view mirror to find them engrossed in silent conversation.
"Ah, you guys mind sharing with the rest of the class?" Liam asked. "Who or what was that back there? I'd like to know what we're dealing with."
"The demon you saw was Crane," Lilli explained. "I killed him, but in doing that I think I've unleashed something worse. Something that was at least partially under control before, but now...now, they are more dangerous."
"The creatures..." Liam said.
"Yes, they were with Crane. But those were just a few. There are more-many more-that have been unleashed because of me."
Liam squinted at his sister in the rearview mirror. "Why do you keep saying that-'because of me'? Even you have blind spots, Lilli. How could you have known? You were fighting for your life." When she didn't immediately disregard what he'd said, Liam seized the chance to ask one of the questions he really wanted to know.
"And how did you kill him, by the way? You didn't even lift a finger. You just...spoke to him. I've never seen you do that before. When did you learn that?"
As Liam was talking, Alessandra turned in her seat to look back at Lilli. She had seen the difference in Lilli as soon as they broke down the castle door. In the heat of the moment, Alessandra hadn't given it any thought, but looking at her now, even the feeling of Lilli's presence in the Collective was different. Brighter, but somehow more dispersed.
Don't say anything! Please! Not yet.
Alessandra heard Lilli's pleading words in her mind clearer than she ever had before. Not spoken through the Collective, but directly into her thoughts.
Why? She asked silently.
Because I am becoming something different...
Alessandra eyed Lilli and Joel suspiciously, but said nothing as she processed the warning in Lilli's words-the clear notion that "different" was not a good thing in this case. Liam, she realized. This is about protecting Liam.
Yes, Lilli answered while keeping her outward attention on her brother.
Alessandra hesitated for only a moment before turning back around in her seat. Whatever Lilli had to say would hurt Liam and as far as Alessandra was concerned, there was no need to do that now.
Before her silent exchange with Alessandra was over, Lilli answered her brother aloud, as if theirs was the only conversation taking place.
"No, I didn't know this would happen, but I should have tried to see it. I was just so focused on him not hurting me or you guys that I just wanted him gone."
Liam was quiet again, considering the few facts he knew with the guilt he could still hear in Lilli's voice.
"Listen, you did what you had to back there. Demons, flying creatures, whatever-this whole thing is crazy. Crazy. I don't think any of us could have imagined how deep this thing really is. We still don't even know exactly what we're into now, so let's just try to make it home, regroup with the others, and figure this out. We're going to figure this out, Lilli. Don't worry."
As Liam watched her from the rearview, Lilli made sure she gave him the small smile he was looking for even though she wasn't at all sure that what he said was true.
Satisfied that Lilli seemed a little more settled, Liam shifting his attention to the shaken man directly behind him.
"What about you, Christof?" Liam asked. "Should we drop you somewhere or are you coming with us?"
Christof turned his weary gaze away from the blurred landscape outside his window to meet Liam's eyes in the mirror.
"Where else am I going to go?"
( Continued... )
© 2014 All rights reserved. Book excerpt reprinted by permission of the author, Cerece Rennie Murphy. This excerpt is used for promotional purposes only. Do not reproduce, copy or use without the publisher's written permission. Copyright infringement is a serious offense. Share a link to this page or the author's website if you really like this promotional excerpt.
PURCHASE THE ORDER OF THE SEERS BOOKS:
http://www.amazon.com/Cerece-Rennie-Murphy/e/B008G6XXBS
The Journey Begins with Order of the Seers - Book I in the Order of the Seers Trilogy
Link: http://amzn.com/0985621001
The Journey Continues with The Red Order (Book II in the Order of the Seers Trilogy)
Link: http://amzn.com/0985621028
The Journey Ends with The Last Seer (Book III in the Order of the Seers Trilogy)
Link: http://www.amazon.com/Order-Seers-Last-Seer-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00MQZRXL6
