Novels by Rachel Holt

The rocket hit the building's upper floor. The explosion was massive. Fire and debris erupted outward, shattering windows, ripping through walls. The concussive force knocked Vincent Drake flat on his back even from fifty yards away. Ethan was closer much closer. He reached the building just as the explosion detonated. The shockwave hit him like a physical wall but he did not stop. He dove through a ground-floor window, glass shattering around him, landing hard on the floor inside. The building groaned. Structural supports damaged. Parts of the upper floor collapsing inward. Smoke filled the air. Thick and black. Ethan pulled his shirt over his mouth and nose, moved deeper inside. "Help!" A voice. Female. Young. Panicked. "Please! Someone!" Ethan followed the sound. He found her in what looked like a sitting room. The ceiling had partially collapsed. A massive wooden beam had fallen, pinning a young woman to the floor. She could not have been more than twenty. Short black hai

Ethan stayed crouched behind Claire's car, his mind working rapidly. The ring. How did they know about it? The old man in prison had given it to him three years into his sentence. A simple silver band with strange markings etched into the metal. The old man had said nothing about what it meant, only that Ethan should keep it safe and tell no one. Ethan had left it at home, hidden in a place only he knew. He stood slowly, hands visible, and called out toward the forest. "I do not have any ring!" He was not lying. The ring was miles away, safe. Movement in the trees. Then a figure emerged. The man wore black tactical gear like the others, but his equipment was different. Better. Military-grade body armor, multiple weapons, a helmet with a darkened visor that hid his face completely. The syndicate leader. He held a rifle in one hand and a megaphone in the other. "Then we will tear this place apart until we find it!" His voice boomed across the estate. Behind Ethan, James was

The gunfire came from the forest. Not single shots. Automatic weapons. Dozens of them, firing in coordinated bursts. The gate guards dove for cover behind their posts. Vincent Drake dropped to the ground, covering his head with his hands.James shouted to his soldiers. "Defensive positions! Return fire!" The four soldiers moved immediately, using the military vehicles as cover, weapons up and ready. More explosions. Closer now. Trees splintered. The ground shook. From the forest emerged figures in black tactical gear. Not Drake family security. These were different. Professional. Military-grade equipment. Moving with precision that only came from real combat experience. Mercenaries. James's eyes narrowed. "Poison Scorpion syndicate! Take cover!" Ethan did not take cover. He moved toward the attackers. "Ethan!" James shouted. "Get down!" But Ethan was already running. Not away from the gunfire. Toward it. Bullets tore through the air around him. You could hear them, sharp c

The eight martial guards moved as one, surrounding Ethan in a tight semicircle.They were professionals. You could see it in how they positioned themselves, spacing evenly, covering angles, blocking escape routes.One of them held a collapsible staff. Another had his hands wrapped in leather strips. The others relied on their training, their bodies honed into weapons through years of practice.Vincent stepped back, crossing his arms, confident. "Try not to kill him. Just break a few bones."The guards attacked simultaneously.Ethan did not retreat.Did not dodge.He advanced.The first guard came from the front, staff already extended, swinging hard toward Ethan's head. A blow meant to incapacitate, maybe kill if it landed wrong.Ethan's hand shot up.He caught the staff mid-swing. His grip was iron.The guard's eyes widened in shock—nobody should be able to stop a full-force swing like that—and then Ethan twisted.The staff snapped. Just broke in half like it was made of cheap plasti

The four guards at the gate shifted their positions, weapons no longer slung casually across their chests but held ready in their hands. Not aimed directly at James or Ethan yet, but the message was clear. James's expression darkened. "You are threatening a military officer?" The older guard with gray temples kept his voice steady. "We are defending private property, sir. Mr. Vincent Drake has instructed us to deny entry to anyone without authorization. That includes military personnel." "I could have you arrested for obstruction," James said. "You could try, sir. But you would need local law enforcement cooperation. And I think you will find that difficult to obtain in this region." James knew the man was right. Harrison had warned him. The Drake family owned the local authorities here. Ethan stepped forward, moving past James. The guards tensed, fingers tightening on their weapons. Ethan raised his hands slightly, showing he was unarmed. "I am not here to cause problems. I j

The military vehicle left the hospital parking lot at five in the morning.The sun had not risen yet. The city was dark except for streetlights and the occasional lit window.Ethan sat in the back seat. James was in the front passenger seat. A soldier named Davis drove. Three other elite soldiers sat in a second vehicle following close behind.Nobody spoke for the first hour.James had made calls throughout the night. Arranged the escort. Cleared schedules. Made sure everything was ready.Now they were moving.The highway stretched ahead, mostly empty at this hour. They passed a few trucks, some early commuters heading to work. Otherwise, the road belonged to them."Six hours to Black Wind Ridge," James said, breaking the silence. "Maybe less if traffic stays light."Ethan nodded but said nothing.James turned slightly in his seat. "The Drake family has private security throughout the area. Armed. Well-trained. Expect resistance.""How many?" Ethan asked."Unknown. But enough to secur

The observation deck at the top of the crystalline spire had become Jack's favorite place to think. From here, he could see the entire city spread out below—rebuilt stronger and more beautiful than it had ever been, filled with people living lives that would have been impossible without the protection his network provided.But tonight, as the dual moons cast silver light across the transformed skyline, Jack wasn't admiring their achievements. He was remembering where it all began."Hard to believe it started with Charles Oliver's execution," he said aloud, knowing his friends would hear him through their permanent mental link even though they were scattered across different dimensions on various missions."You mean it started with a weak boy nobody wanted," Lucy's voice replied warmly through their connection, her protective instincts wrapping around the memory with fierce affection.Jack smiled, pressing his hand against the medallion that had become part of his chest. The golden sur

The war room deep within the crystalline spire had become the nerve center for the most ambitious defensive project in dimensional history. Holographic displays showed the status of their entire universal cluster—thousands of realities connected by the portal network, each one now monitored by their expanded consciousness.Jack stood at the center of it all, no longer the weak boy who had once struggled to survive in a world that saw him as worthless. The medallion had become so integrated with his being that its golden surface was visible beneath his skin, pulsing with the rhythm of dimensional currents across countless worlds. But unlike the corrupt artifacts that had consumed previous wielders, his medallion was sustained by the bonds that connected him to his friends."Protocol Seven is now fully operational across all monitored dimensions," Sierra reported, her tactical awareness coordinating defensive measures on a scale that would have been incomprehensible months ago. "Early w

Six months after the dimensional crisis, their city bore little resemblance to the place that had nearly been destroyed by Vale's invasion. The rebuilding hadn't simply restored what was lost—it had created something entirely new.Where the old council headquarters had stood, a crystalline spire now reached toward the sky, its faceted surface designed to detect dimensional anomalies from hundreds of miles away. The building served as headquarters for the Dimensional Monitoring Initiative, the organization Jack and his friends had established to prevent future crises."Seventeen minor rifts detected across the northern sectors this week," Sierra reported during their morning briefing, her tactical awareness processing data streams that would have overwhelmed any individual mind. "All within normal parameters, but the frequency is increasing."Jack nodded, his consciousness simultaneously monitoring the reports while maintaining awareness of dimensional currents across their entire real

As the final seconds of his transformation ticked away, Jack felt his consciousness crystallize around a revelation that changed everything. The medallions' power didn't have to choose between perfect guardianship and human connection—it could create something entirely new."What if the burden doesn't have to be mine alone?" he said through their shared mental link, his voice carrying wonder despite his fading physical form. "What if we've been thinking about this wrong from the beginning?"Through their psychic connection, his friends felt his idea taking shape—not one guardian managing impossible responsibilities, but a network of consciousness that could handle the dimensional network's complexity while remaining anchored to humanity."You mean permanent integration?" Sierra breathed, her enhanced understanding immediately grasping the implications. "All of us linked directly to the dimensional network?""The ancient guardians failed because they became isolated from the people the

Jack's consciousness spread like spilled mercury across the dimensional network, his awareness touching worlds he'd never imagined. He could feel the pulse of life on countless planets, sense the delicate balance that held reality together, perceive threats to dimensional stability that existed light-years away.It was overwhelming and magnificent and terrifying all at once.Through his expanded perception, he could see their own world as just one node in an infinite web—small, fragile, but pulsing with the fierce determination of beings who refused to surrender to despair. He could feel Mrs. Sophie organizing relief efforts in the ruined city, Lord Rasmus's surviving soldiers helping with rescue operations despite their old conflicts, even the corrupted treasure hunters slowly recovering their humanity as the dimensional toxins were purged from their systems.But he could also feel himself slipping away from all of it. His connection to individual human concerns was fading as cosmic

The moment Jack's hand closed around Vale's dark medallion, reality screamed.Two opposing forces—one meant to protect, one designed to consume—collided within his consciousness with the fury of colliding stars. Jack felt his sense of self being torn apart and rebuilt simultaneously, his awareness expanding beyond the boundaries of single-dimensional existence.Vale's eyes widened in shock as his dark artifact began resonating with Jack's medallion, the two pieces fighting for dominance within the same host. "What are you doing, you fool? You'll destroy us both!""Maybe," Jack gasped, feeling the competing energies threaten to tear his mind apart. "But at least I'll take you with me."The dark medallion's hunger crashed against Jack's consciousness like a tidal wave of pure malevolence. It whispered promises of power beyond imagination, showed him visions of ruling infinite realities, offered him the ability to reshape existence according to his will. The corruption was overwhelming,

The team assembled at midnight in complete darkness. Thirty fighters, each carrying minimal equipment to move quietly through hostile territory. Jacob looked at the faces around him—warriors who knew they were marching toward death but came anyway because Seron needed them."Radio silence from this point forward," Jacob said quietly. "Hand signals only. We move in single file, five meter spacing. If anyone falls behind, we do not stop. If you are compromised, you do not lead them back to the group. Understood?"Thirty heads nodded. No questions, no hesitation. These were professionals who understood the stakes.Anna stood beside Jacob, dressed in tactical gear that Roseline had helped her acquire. She carried weapons she had trained with in secret, and her face showed the same calm determination Jacob had seen on veteran soldiers before dangerous missions.They moved out at exactly 0100 hours. The border between Seron and Argo was heavily patrolled, but Jacob had studied the patterns

Jacob stared at the intercepted intelligence for a long time before speaking. Verons knew they were coming. The carefully planned eight-minute window was now a death sentence waiting to spring. But backing out was not an option—Seron would fall within days without this strike.He looked up to find Anna watching him with that expression he had learned to recognize. She knew what he was thinking before he said it."You are not coming," Jacob said.Anna's face hardened. "We already discussed this.""That was before Verons tripled his security. Before we knew he was expecting us." Jacob stood and walked to the window overlooking Seron's burning districts. "This mission was already suicide. Now it is guaranteed death for everyone involved.""Then you should not go either.""I have to. The artifacts respond to Krigg bloodline. Only I can retrieve the fourth piece if we somehow reach it." He turned to face her. "But you do not need to die with me. Stay here. Coordinate Seron's defense. If I

The war room fell silent as Jacob spread detailed maps across the table. Seron was burning. Every hour brought reports of new districts falling to Argo's invasion force, and the mathematics were brutal—they could hold maybe another week before defensive positions collapsed completely."We cannot win this war here," Jacob said, his finger tracing the border between Seron and Argo. "Every engagement we win is temporary. They keep sending more troops, more equipment, more everything. We are fighting a losing battle of attrition."Leo looked up from casualty reports, his face gray with exhaustion. "So what do you propose? We barely have enough forces to defend the city, let alone launch an offensive."Jacob's finger moved to a point deep inside Argo territory. "We take the war to them. Hit Verons where he lives."The room erupted in protests and questions, but Jacob raised his hand for silence. He pulled out intelligence photographs showing Verons's command tank—a massive armored vehicle

The vision from the artifacts faded, leaving Jacob standing in the ruins of Bishop's mansion with knowledge that changed everything. The fourth artifact was not hidden in some vault or treasure room—it was actively being used by Verons, integrated into his command tank's mystical defenses."We need to get that tank," Jacob said, still processing the implications. "Before the invasion begins, while it is still on Argo's side of the border.""Impossible," Carl replied flatly. "That tank will be surrounded by Argo's best troops. We cannot just drive up and steal it."But Jacob was already planning the operation in his mind. The artifacts had shown him more than just the fourth piece's location—they had revealed weaknesses in Verons's defenses, timing windows when the tank would be vulnerable, and tactical approaches that conventional military thinking would never consider.The next hours blurred together as Seron's resistance fought desperately to hold back Argo's invasion. The fighting

The vision of artifact four's location faded, leaving Jacob standing amid the wreckage of Bishop's vault with three Krigg family relics in his possession. The mystical power they generated together was extraordinary—he could feel capabilities awakening that had been dormant for fifteen years."We need to move," Carl urged again, more insistently this time. "Argo forces are advancing. If we do not get back to defensive positions immediately, we will be cut off."They drove back through streets that were transforming into battlefields. Argo's invasion had begun while they were retrieving the artifact, and resistance fighters were already engaged across multiple districts. The sound of explosions and gunfire echoed from the northern sectors where the heaviest fighting was concentrated.At the command center, Jacob found chaos barely contained by Leo's organizational efforts. Reports flooded in faster than anyone could process—Argo breakthroughs here, successful defensive stands there, ci

The vision from the combined artifacts faded, leaving Jacob shaking and disoriented. Verons possessed the fourth artifact and was carrying it directly into battle inside his command vehicle. The opportunity was clear—if Jacob could destroy that tank, he could recover the artifact and eliminate Argo's supreme commander simultaneously.But there was no time to act on that revelation. Argo's invasion had begun in earnest, and defenders were being pushed back across multiple fronts despite fierce resistance. The battle for Seron had transformed from skirmishes into full-scale urban warfare that was consuming the city block by block.Jacob returned to the command center to find the tactical situation deteriorating rapidly. Northern defenses were holding but taking catastrophic casualties. Eastern positions had collapsed entirely after sustained artillery bombardment. Southern districts remained contested, with street fighting raging through residential neighborhoods where civilians were tr