Novels by Rachel Holt

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,

Jacob studied Anna's face in the dawn light, searching for any sign that her request was born from trauma rather than genuine conviction. What he saw was determination that reminded him of himself at thirteen—a person who had faced something terrible and chosen to become stronger rather than break."If I agree to this, there are rules," Jacob said carefully. "Real combat training is not like the self-defense lessons I gave you before. It will be brutal, exhausting, and dangerous. You will get hurt. You will want to quit. And I will not let you.""Good," Anna replied without hesitation. "I do not want you to go easy on me because I am your wife. I want you to train me the way you were trained.""The way I was trained broke most of the students who attempted it," Jacob warned. "The Himulan Sect does not produce soldiers through gentle methods. They forge warriors through pain and repetition until skills become instinct.""Then that is what I need," Anna said. "Because the next time some

Anna stared at Jacob for a long moment after his confession, tears streaming down her face. The revelation that he had loved her since that terrible day fifteen years ago should have felt romantic. Instead, it felt overwhelming—another layer of complexity added to an already impossibly tangled situation."Sit down," Anna finally said, her voice hoarse from crying. "We are going to talk. Really talk. No more evasions, no more half-truths. I want to know everything."Jacob sat carefully on the opposite end of the bed, maintaining distance between them. "What do you want to know?""Everything," Anna repeated. "Start with what happened after I pulled you from that fire. Where did you go? How did you survive?"So Jacob told her. He described fleeing Seron as a traumatized thirteen-year-old, carried away by people whose names he never learned. The long journey to the Himulan Sect, where he was taken in by military trainers who recognized potential in the broken boy.He explained his years o

Anna sat on the bed, the memory of that terrible day washing over her with crystal clarity. The pain, the fear, the desperate determination to save a trapped boy despite the danger. She had carried those scars for fifteen years, never knowing the name of the child she had rescued or what became of him after that day."It was you," Anna repeated, her voice barely above a whisper. "All this time, the boy I saved was you."Jacob nodded, his expression showing vulnerability she had never seen before. "I was thirteen years old, watching my entire family being systematically murdered. My enemies trapped me in that bus and set it on fire, expecting me to die with the other passengers. Then you appeared like an angel and pulled me from the flames.""I never knew your name," Anna said, fragments of memory clicking into place. "The hospital was chaos that night. By the time they treated my burns, you had already disappeared. I asked about you for weeks afterward, but nobody could tell me anythi

Fifteen years ago...Anna Tate was seventeen years old and had never been happier. The summer sun warmed her face as she walked beside her mother through the streets of coastal Seron, far from the suffocating expectations of her family's mansion. This vacation was a rare gift—three days away from tutors, social obligations, and her mother's constant reminders about proper behavior for a Tate daughter."Can we get ice cream?" Anna asked, pointing to a vendor cart across the street. "Please, mother? Just this once?"Elizabeth Tate sighed but nodded, unable to resist her daughter's genuine smile. Anna was still unscarred then, still beautiful and full of life. The weight of family disappointment had not yet crushed her spirit.Anna ordered chocolate while her mother got vanilla, and they sat on a bench overlooking the harbor. Boats drifted lazily in the water, and seabirds called overhead. For these precious moments, Anna was just a normal teenager enjoying summer vacation."We should he

Jacob scooped Anna into his arms and ran toward the exit as the Forno compound began tearing itself apart around them. Explosions chased them through corridors, each detonation closer than the last as incendiary charges ignited in sequence."Hold on to me," Jacob commanded, channeling mystical energy into a protective shield around both of them. Debris bounced off the golden barrier as they navigated the collapsing structure.Behind them, Jacob heard Michael Forno screaming for his son, trying to drag James's broken body toward an exit that no longer existed. Part of Jacob wanted to go back, to save them despite everything they had done. But Anna was his priority, and every second they remained in the compound decreased their chances of survival.A massive explosion tore through the bunker level, the shockwave throwing Jacob forward despite his shields. He twisted his body to take the impact, protecting Anna from the worst of it as they tumbled through a doorway and into a stairwell t

Jacob's hands moved to the edges of his mask, fingers finding the release mechanisms that had been second nature for fifteen years. He hesitated for just a moment, knowing that once he removed it, there would be no going back. The separation between his two identities would collapse forever.But Anna's terrified whimper decided the matter. He pressed the release points and lifted the mask away from his face.The change was immediate. The demonic metal features that had terrorized countless enemies disappeared, revealing the familiar face Anna knew. Jacob's brown hair was matted with sweat, his hazel eyes showed exhaustion and pain, and blood splattered across his features told the story of brutal combat. But it was unmistakably him.Anna's expression transformed from terror to complete shock. Her mouth opened and closed several times without producing sound as her brain struggled to process what her eyes were seeing."Jacob?" she finally whispered, the single word carrying disbelief,