Kindle Edition
Amazon
Morgan Koda Adventures
Big Sky Press
Amazon
Category:
Fantasy
Publisher: Big Sky Press
ISBN-10: 1494400014
Pages: 290
Copyright: July 17, 2013
ISBN-13: 9781494400019
Price: $4.99 (eBook)
Morgan Koda had no idea turning sixteen, would lead to devastating consequences.
Morgan Koda had no idea turning sixteen, would lead to devastating consequences.
A trip to the Mall of America turns terrifying after Morgan is shot trying to save a stranger. She awakens in the hospital with no memory of who or what she is.
She's in a race to recover her memory before the fiend captures her and the girl she believes to be her sister.
As the hunters close in, strange events start happening around her, then to add to the mix, a familiar smiling ball of fire keeps showing up telling her and Indy to run.
But what terrifies Morgan the most — this all seem so familiar.
Author's Website: www.morgankodaadventures.com
Excerpt
CHAPTER ONE
Morgan Koda, her yellow lab, Sonny, Tristan Blake, Rex Walker and Raine Hunter appeared on the front lawns of Edenwiess School of Magic with little more than a tiny pop to announce their arrival.
Morgan shot her friends a grin, tightened her grip on her suitcase, then turned her head sharply at the startling noise behind her.
She drew in a breath as her eyed widened.
That was close! I need to be more careful.
A group of students had appeared on the trail leading to the village of Edenwiess.
Morgan knew keeping the secret that she didn't have to use a traveling potion was getting harder as the years went by. But it was a rare skill, and one, she and her friends were determined to keep secret for as long as possible.
Morgan took her eyes from the approaching students and studied the grounds. There wasn't a sign left of the devastating storm that had all but destroyed the tiny Hawaiian island a year earlier.
"Come on," Rex said, seizing Morgan's hand. "I don't want to be late for the Rainbow. It's always so… entertaining."
Raine muttered a few swear words under her breath, gave her cousin a sharp glare, then said, "Rex, you need to grow up. You're fifteen years old now!" She would have continued, but the clamor from their classmates, as they flowed by, drowned her out.
Morgan shot Rex a disintegrating stare. "You're such an ass!" She shook her head at his idiotic grin, then glanced towards the huge double front doors with another gasp of surprise.
The school wasn't as empty as she'd thought. A mass of bodies were scrambling up the steps. "Damn," she added, keenly. "What if… what if... we'd been seen?" She nodded her chin towards the packed staircase leading into the portentous school.
Rex shook his head incredulously, then retorted, louder than Morgan would have liked. "Is the bottle still in your pocket?" He fished an identical bottle from his own. "Remember," he continued. "We have it covered. I doubt if any of them would have noticed anyway." He jiggled the bottle before Morgan's eyes, then shoved the traveling potion back into his pocket.
He gave her hand a zealous jerk and pulled her along the walk lined with multi-colored flower beds.
They joined the end of the pack and gradually made their way inside.
Tristan gazed at the back of Rex's head and chuckled, as his friend jerked Morgan up the stairs. He knew Morgan'd had about enough of Rex's manhandling, and was about to come apart at the seams.
Tristan decided it might be in his best interest to get out of the line of fire, and elbowed his way up the stairs. Then, all but flew through the entrance. He wanted no part in what was about to happen to Rex.
Morgan shook her hand free of Rex's as she shot a frigid glare at the back of Tristan's head. Had he hung around a little longer, he would have realized she had no intention of doing anything to Rex… That will come later, she thought, with a wicked twist of her heart-shaped lips. She placed her hand on Sonny's head. He was, as always, at her side.
The five of them had barely stepped into the antechamber, en route for a mountain-size pile of luggage, when Morgan heard her name called. She tightened her hold on her suitcase as she was jostled from the crowd, and scanned the area.
She lost sight of Tristan as he tossed his bag on the pile and disappeared within the mob. Shoving her way towards the bags, she was brought up short again as someone called out to her name more firmly this time. Twisting her head like a gyroscope, she studied the sea of faces around her.
Morgan eyed the packed room, but for the life of her, she couldn't tell who was calling her. There were just too many people crammed into the small area.
She swung her gaze over her shoulder intending to ask Rex or Raine if they'd heard. But they were gone. Suddenly, she was alone in a room jam-packed with students.
Professor Angelina Mackenzie unexpectedly appeared at Morgan's elbow.
"Dean Dae would like to speak with you before the Unitizing begins." She said, then melted back into the crowd.
Morgan nodded, tossed her bag with the others, then followed in her teacher's wake. Amused, she almost burst out aloud when the mass of students parted like the Red Sea.
Regretfully, Morgan glanced into the Dining Hall. The room was filling up for the Utilizing on the front lawns and the Welcoming Feast. The Utilizing was her favorite part of the new school year festivities. The 'Rainbow' as Rex had called it, was a sight to see. New students journeyed through an actual rainbow to get their magical bracelet and find out what dorms they would be assigned to.
Morgan remembered her voyage through those colorful rays like it was yesterday. How one solid hue after another assaulted her as she stood in the colorful mist, listening to the tiny voices. Then, before she was ready, she was traveling along the red pane, and upon her right wrist was her magical bracelet.
She momentarily glanced down at the golden band strapped to her arm. In its center was a huge ruby. But it wasn't the ruby or the gold that made her bracelet exceptional. It was the tiny threads of color—ruby red, icy blue, emerald green, and diamond-like crystal—within the gold that made it different from any other bracelet.
The flash of brightness from the images of volcanoes, dolphins, turtles and owls lining the stone passage drew her attention away from her bracelet. These simple depictions gave her the same thrill they always did as she traveled the school's corridors. So much had happened to her within these walls in the last four years, that Morgan didn't feel anything like the scared kid she'd once been.
Morgan followed Professor Mackenzie as she led her up one staircase, then another, until they came to a hardwood door that Morgan knew all too well.
Angelina rapped on the door and waited. A hollow voice sounded weakly through the dense wood. Mackenzie pushed the door open and went inside.
Morgan started across the threshold, then suddenly, felt reluctant to enter the room. School hadn't even begun, and here she was being taken to the Dean's Office. She drew in a deep breath, then muttered, "Might as well, get this over with." She squared her shoulders and marched into the room.
It was as though they had stepped into the past. The room was decorated as though it belonged to a captain’s stateroom aboard an old clipper ship. Portholes lined the wall behind a huge wooden desk that took up most of the room.
Dean Aidan Dae was chatting happily with three other people, Professors, Emma Blackwood, Sam Mullen, and Ashlyn Greene.
"Morgan," Dean Dae said, smiling serenely at her. "Please have a seat."
"Oh, Hell!" Morgan said silently as she took the chair to the side of his desk facing the three professors, who lining the other side. Her heartbeat grew as Professor Mackenzie took up the vacant seat next to Professor Mullen.
Morgan racked her brain, trying to figure out what she had done to cause the four professors to be in the Dean's office.
Dean Dae fought the smile hiding behind his full lips. He had no doubt she was nervous and thought she was in trouble. He cleared his throat, and said, "As you know, your Residential Adviser, Brandi, has graduated." He paused glancing to Professor Mackenzie and nodded.
Morgan stared at him in utter confusion. She liked Brandi and all, but couldn't see what her leaving the school had to do with her.
"You're not in trouble!" A tiny voice whispered in her ear. "Oh." Morgan muttered silently, finally catching on.
Professor Mackenzie took a deep breath, got gingerly to her feet, then gazed directly into Morgan's questioning eyes, and said, "This position requires you to assign rooms and keep the Volcano dormitory residents in order. That includes making sure everyone is accounted for at night. You would also have to settle disagreements between your students, and occasionally check that the rooms are in order. You will unfortunately, be forced to reprimand or bear witness to someone being in your dorm that doesn't belong."
Morgan gasped and her eyes widened. "I didn't think anyone, other than a volcano member, could be in our dorm without a ruby bracelet?" She flashed her bracelet at the assembled teachers. Then the thought struck her… Check rooms? She could imagine checking Rex's room. She knew he was an absolute slob and had been reported to his RA on several occasions throughout the last three years.
"There are exceptions to this rule." Dae informed her.
Morgan met his gaze, as Rex's smiling face faded from her mind. She knew Rex would be the last person she would ever tell, for he would stop at nothing to figure out how to get into the other dorms.
As Mackenzie returned to her seat, Professor Mullen slowly climbed to his feet and paced in front of the professors. He paused before his vacant chair, then shot Morgan an intense stare.
"This assignment," he said. "Would also require you to give your new students a tour of the school, showing them to their classes and such…" He took up his pacing again.
"Seriously?" The voice in Morgan's ear roared disbelievingly. "Where was Brandi, when you got lost that morning so long ago?"
Morgan ignored the voice as she followed professor Mullen with her eyes.
"I need to warn you…" He continued. "Your leisure time will be almost non-existent, and you will need to remind your students to do their homework, and you may be forced to send them to the Chamber." He flopped back into his chair and shot her a grin.
Morgan knew how much he loved to overdramatize—everything, and shot him a grin of her own.
"I think I can handle it." She said with poise. She wondered just how hard it was going be to get some of the Volcano students to do their homework. She would cross that bridge when she came to it, she decided. Just the threat of the Chamber had been enough for her.
Movement from Mullen's left caught her attention.
Professor Blackwood gained her feet, but she didn't pace as her coworker had done. "I think you're the perfect person for the assignment." She said, then glared at Professor Mullen, cleared her throat, and sat back down.
If she didn't know better, he seemed to be trying to talk Morgan out of accepting the assignment. If Morgan turned them down because of him, she would be having a long talk with him about keeping one's mouth shut.
"I have no doubt Miss Koda can handle anything that comes up in her dorm." Professor Greene added. "Just remember, Morgan, you have to report weekly to Professor Mackenzie."
"We are in agreement, then." Dean Dae said happily clapping his hands.
Morgan's eyes snapped to his.
"You will make a fine replacement for Brandi." Dae paused and glanced at his colleagues, then back to Morgan. "Do you need time to think about this undertaking?" He asked, staring into her amethyst gaze.
"No, I think I can handle it. If not, I can always ask for help, right?" Morgan said.
"Absolutely." Dae replied.
"Morgan, after the Utilizing—" Professor Mackenzie's voice faded as the professors beside her left their seats. "When I take the new students to the Supply Hall…" She continued. "You can join us and I will go over in more detail what your duties will entail." She glanced at Dae, and said, "I need to leave or I will miss the new students at the airport." She paused, removed a small bottle from her pocket, took sip, then with a tiny pop she vanished.
Morgan remembered her first trip over the pacific. Her hands had been clinched to the armrests for the first half of the six hour flight from Florida to Kona, Hawaii.
Sonny brushed her hand, and she shook her head at the memory. Then almost burst out merrily as another memory from her first year flashed before her eyes. The trip home for Easter vacation. She had tried to talk Sonny into the pet create the airline required. He, however, had other ideas.
She'd glanced down at him, put her hand on the top of his head and stroked one of his silky ears. He had unconditionally refused to get into the pet carrier. No matter how hard she'd tried to talk him into it, he'd just stared at her as though it had been her idea to put the regulation in place. Then he'd stated firmly, "There's no way I'm flying across the pacific stuffed in that tiny cage and stacked in the baggage compartment like a—animal."
Dean Dae brought her memories to a halt by popping from his chair and rounding his desk. "You should have enough time to visit the Supply Hall and get your school things before Professor Mackenzie returns.” He informed her as he headed for his office door.
Morgan climbed to her feet, smiled at the three remaining professors. "Goodbye." She said softly, then followed Sonny and Dae to the door.
"I will see you at the Utilizing." He said, opening the door.
"Thank you for giving me the RA position. I will try not to let you down." Morgan whispered, beaming a smile at him.
"I know you will do an excellent job." He replied, then watched her and Sonny hurry down the corridor. He had no doubt she was in search of her friends to tell them the news.
Morgan slid a glance over her shoulder and watched the dean's door swing shut. "Wow, Sonny, can you believe it? Me… a Residential Adviser!"
"Of course I can.” He responded, gazing at her. You're kind hearted and get along well with the other students. I can't think of a better choice."
"What?" She said incredulously, coming to a halt in the middle of the empty corridor. "What about Seth Keely? I don't get along with him at all." She added staring into Sonny's chocolate brown eyes.
"Only because he's… He's an ass!" Sonny roared heatedly. "I think you would have gotten along fine with him, eventually. If he hadn't tried to have you killed in your first year."
Morgan seriously doubted that she and Seth would have ever been friends, but Sonny was the last—dog, demigod, whatever he really was—she would argue with. Last year she had learned that he wasn't a mere dog, there was a lot more to him than that.
She ended up muttering a laugh, then took off at a sprint down the passageway. She couldn't wait to meet up with her friends, but she knew her news would have to wait until after the Utilizing and the feast. For the students at Edenwiess had to sit with their assigned dormitories during the start and ending feasts, then they were free to sit wherever they chose.
Morgan and Sonny turned right and journeyed through the school, this time at a slower pace. They made their way past some other students en route for the school's main floor.
They took another passageway and headed towards the very back of the school to the colossal size Supply Hall. The room was as she remembered it, teeming with everything a student at Edenwiess would need. The best part, she thought to herself, no money was needed. For in their magical world—money didn't exist.
An assistant greeted her as soon as she crossed the threshold. Morgan trailed behind her to where the school robes hung on racks.
She was instructed to step onto a low bench, where she was measured for her new school robes. This was no surprise to her, for she had been on this same bench three other times.
Her assistant pulled three sets of robes from a separate rack. The large red volcanoes, dark purple and coral pink flowers, and blue dolphins, which some of them were swimming, while others seemed to stare at her from within the iridescent fabric. There were also, sea turtles of all sizes, and snowy owls that appeared to be in flight within the silvery background.
She almost gasped aloud, as the assistant swung one of the robes over her shoulder. The shimmering material was a little different from the ones she had previously worn. The robe her assistant fitted her with had a wide bright red strip along the collar, cuffs, and hem, marking her as an authority figure. She couldn't believe she'd never noticed them in Brandi's robes.
She had just hopped to the stone flooring when another student took her place on the bench. Morgan watched as another assistant pulled a robe from the same rack and held it up. This one had green stripes that matched the red in hers.
A jolt of regret unexpectedly rocketed through her; Raine wouldn't be joining her as an RA. Then she thought of Tristan and searched the room.
It was the sight of the person walking into the room that totally took her breath away. She grinned at his astonished expression as his eyes collided with hers.
Rex paused on the Supply Hall's threshold, scanned the room absentmindedly, then did a double take when his gaze met purple.
He shoved his way into the room and made a beeline towards those purple eyes. He nearly mauled Morgan down in his haste. He didn't notice his assistant following on his heels
Morgan braced herself for the encounter, but Rex, at the last moment, slid to a halt, then whispered, breathlessly. "Morgan, those fools... they went and made me a RA!" He drew in a staggering breath, and continued in a more hushed tone. "What were they thinking?"
Morgan sputtered for a second, clinched her lips tight on the smile fighting to be let loose, then said, "I'm sure you will make a great RA…" She drew back as Rex rapidly cut her off.
"Says who?" He asked, glaringly.
"Rex, they wouldn't have chosen you—" She paused, as his right eyebrow rose. "If they didn't think you could do it." She added, giving him a serene stare. She could tell that he still wasn't convinced, so she changed subjects so fast that even her brain had a hard time keeping up. "Oh, just think what Raine will say?" She whispered, trying to draw him out of his stupor.
Rex took a deep breath, and his body relaxed. A wicked grin suddenly ripened his lips.
Yeah, wait until she hears. Then his eyes shot around the room searching for her.
"Don't worry," Morgan said, following his gaze. "I already checked, neither she nor Tristan are in the room."
"We had better get a move on…" Rex's assistant interrupted staring at his charge. "Or you will miss the Utilizing."
Rex nodded, then followed the swish of the older man's robes as he headed toward the benches to fit Rex's robes.
Morgan grinned, turned, and followed her assistant to another clothing area in the huge room. To her surprise, she was given different uniforms as well. Instead of the teal short-sleeve shirts she had grown accustom to. Her blouses now matched the red stripe in her robes. The black skirt and shiny black loafers were the same.
With Sonny at her side, she crossed the vast room and was in the process of selecting a bag from the book-bags and backpacks covering the entire back wall, when Rex finally caught up with her. She almost came out of her skin when he tapped her on the shoulder. She had been engrossed with two bags, one a deep saddle-brown, where as, the other, a rich tan.
She snatched the saddle-brown one from its hook, waited as Rex seized the first bag his fingers touched. Later, he would thank all the stars above that the backpack was black, and not—hot-pink. He wouldn't soon forget the time when Raine had turned his school robs to pink in front of the whole Dining Hall.
He followed the swing of Morgan's waist length, dark-brown hair, as she crossed the room and grabbed handfuls of pens and pencils from the barrel sized bins.
She stuffed them haphazardly into her book bag and joined the short line for the reams of blank paper. She grabbed two reams, then took them to the table where the rest of her supplies had been compiled. Each student was assigned a table, then their provisions would be loaded into a cedar trunk and delivered to their rooms.
She followed Rex to their last stop, the largest section of the Supply Hall. Textbooks were crowded on towering shelves that stood in rows from floor to ceiling.
There was only one witch who worked within this part of the room, and they were lucky there were no other students within the soaring isles, or the wait could have been hours.
The witch impatiently shoved a book back into its place when Morgan and rex stepped up to the information desk.
"Name…?" She said gruffly as she stepped around the desk.
Morgan glanced over her shoulder, just to make sure a line hadn't formed, all she found was Rex's glowing eyes. "Damn, the woman has known me for four years, and still asks the same question." She eyed the woman for a moment, and it hit her. She's in a hurry to get us out of her way.
"Morgan Koda." Morgan replied, smiling serenely at the witch in sky blue robes.
"Rex Walker." Rex added from over Morgan's shoulder.
The witch eyed him for a second, as if they might be lying, then flipped the papers on a clipboard, then was off with a swish of her robes.
Several minutes later, Morgan and Rex delivered an armload of books each to their assigned tables.
They were leaving the Supply Hall when the last person Morgan wanted to encounter stepped over the threshold.
"Oh, look…" Seth Keely snarled, his lip curled into a sneer. He halted in the middle of the doorway, and his gang crowded in behind him. "It's the—Queen Bee, her mutt, and the sidekick." He growled, glaring into her eyes. It didn't take him long to realize—he'd neglected to keep an eye on the mutt.
|
