I am bringing you an excerpt today from the book “Deceived” by Stephanie Nelson. I hope that you check out the full book tour and giveaway that is going on for another month!! Check out the full Book Tour for “Deceived” and Giveaway.

The glass vial felt ominous in my hand, but I did what the Angel of Death said and concentrated on the feeling it emanated. Without thinking, I pulled the stopper out of the tube and dipped the pad of my finger in the blood. As soon as my skin made contact with the sticky liquid, a shiver washed through me. The feeling of death and despair surrounded me. My body shook against the icy coldness crawling through me.

“Call the spirits forward, Gwen.”

That was easier said than done. The death within the blood was overwhelming. Whoever the blood belonged to, they had killed a lot of people. Instinct took over, and something inside of me commanded I take control of the ghosts. My body stopped quivering, a peaceful calm replaced the confusion. When I opened my eyes, a large cloud of gray hovered just behind Dorian’s back. The cloud separated and formed what looked like human shapes. It took less than three minutes for the fog to completely separate. At least fifteen spirits stood in my room, their bodies shimmering like a heat mirage.

Dorian turned to see what I called forth from the blood. “Good job. I’ve never seen a newbie pull that many ghosts at once.”

“I’m not sure how I did it,” I said flabbergasted.

“I told you it’d get easier. Once you learn to associate the feeling of death on someone, you won’t even have to think when you summon their victims.” The look of pride was hard to ignore on Dorian’s face.

I thought about every time I read the memories of the dead and what that meant. When Holly said I was more powerful than I realized, she wasn’t wrong.