Novels by Rachel Holt

Anna did not move from blocking the exit. Jacob stood inches away, mystical energy making the air between them shimmer with heat, his eyes still glowing with barely controlled fury."Jacob, look at me," Anna said firmly. "Really look at me, not through your rage."Jacob's glowing eyes met hers. For several seconds they stood frozen in that position—Anna vulnerable but unwavering, Jacob powerful but uncertain."I see you," Jacob said, his voice rough. "And I see Bishop Nico's face when he talked about my father. I see fifteen years of preparation that was not enough. I see—""You see everything except what is actually in front of you right now," Anna interrupted. She reached up slowly, carefully, and placed both hands on Jacob's face. The mystical energy crackling around him made her skin tingle, but she did not pull away."This man in front of me," Anna continued softly. "The one whose eyes are glowing gold with power he can barely control. The one who just destroyed a training room b

The secure garage where Carl had parked suddenly felt too small to contain Jacob's fury. He stood motionless for ten seconds after Bishop's message, his breathing controlled but his hands trembling with suppressed emotion.Then something inside him broke."Get out," Jacob said quietly. "Everyone out of the van. Now."Carl recognized the danger immediately. "Sir, you need to—""OUT!" Jacob's voice cracked like thunder, mystical energy exploding from him in a visible wave that rocked the van on its suspension.Anna, Carl, and the guards scrambled out. Jacob followed, his movements eerily controlled despite the power radiating from every inch of his body. Golden energy crackled around him like lightning, brighter and more intense than Anna had ever witnessed."Jacob, you need to calm down," Anna tried, staying near the van's exit. "Your energy is out of control."Jacob did not respond. He walked to the center of the garage where Leo had set up a temporary training area—punching bags, wei

Jacob and Anna made their way through the building's maintenance corridors, avoiding public areas where Bishop's people might be watching. Leo guided them via phone to a service exit that opened into an alley three blocks from their extraction point.Carl met them with a nondescript van, its interior equipped with tactical equipment and secure communications. "Get in quickly," he urged. "Bishop's teams are canvassing the area."Once inside, Jacob activated the van's encrypted network and pulled up all the files Leo had sent. Anna sat beside him, studying the information with the same intensity he felt burning in his chest."This goes back further than fifteen years," Anna observed, pointing to financial records. "Bishop Nico has been involved in Seron's criminal networks for at least twenty-five years. He was already powerful when your family was killed."Jacob scrolled through documents detailing Bishop's rise to power. Drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, human trafficking—the man h

The bullet whined past where Anna's head had been, shattering a rooftop vent behind them. Jacob covered Anna's body with his own as a second shot struck the gravel inches away, sending fragments of stone ricocheting in all directions."Sniper!" Jacob shouted into his earpiece. "Rooftop position, probably northwest building! Carl, get counter-sniper on it now!"He dragged Anna behind an air conditioning unit, the only cover available on the exposed rooftop. A third shot sparked off the metal housing, confirming the sniper had their position triangulated."Jacob, I cannot see him," Anna said, her voice shaking. The passion of their kiss had been replaced by survival instinct in seconds. "Where is he shooting from?"Jacob risked a glance around the cover, his enhanced vision scanning distant rooftops for the telltale glint of a scope. There—northwest building, eighth floor, window position. Professional setup with good sight lines."Stay here," Jacob ordered. "Do not move, do not expose

Jacob and Anna ran toward the edge of the crumbling rooftop, his hand gripping hers tightly. Behind them, the explosion's fire spread rapidly through the restaurant, consuming everything in orange flames."On three!" Jacob shouted over the roar of destruction. "One, two—"Gunfire erupted from the stairwell access. Not the random chaos of panicked security, but precise, professional shots aimed directly at them. Marcus had not just planted bombs—he had positioned shooters to eliminate anyone who survived the initial blast."Down!" Jacob yanked Anna behind an ornamental planter as bullets tore through the space where they had been standing. He counted three shooters emerging from the smoke-filled stairwell, all wearing tactical gear and moving with military coordination."Carl, status!" Jacob spoke into his earpiece while assessing their attackers."Pinned down on fifth floor," Carl's strained voice replied through static. "Building is coming apart. Cannot reach you."Jacob pulled his c

Anna rolled off Jacob immediately, her face flushed with embarrassment and something more complicated. Jacob grabbed his phone from where it lay on the floor, his expression shifting from vulnerable to professional in an instant."Leo, what is it?" Jacob answered, sitting up and running a hand through his sweat-dampened hair.Anna stood and walked to the window, needing distance to calm her racing heart. She had been about to kiss him. After weeks of maintaining careful boundaries, she had nearly closed that gap in a moment of training-induced closeness.Jacob's conversation continued behind her. "Understood. Increase patrols around the building. No, she is safe here. Yes, I will tell her."He ended the call and Anna turned to face him. "What did Leo say?""Marcus was spotted near your grandfather's estate," Jacob reported. "He is getting bolder, testing our security responses. Leo thinks he is planning something major but we do not know what yet."Anna nodded, the mention of Marcus e

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,