On my blog today is
Rebecca Ryals Russell, author of a delightful YA Series, Seraphym Wars. But I'll let Rebecca tell you all about her wonderful world. Be sure to check out her giveaway at the bottom of her post.
Harpies,
Book Two of Seraphym Wars series by Rebecca Ryals Russell comes out soon. But
you might wish to read the Prequel, Prophecy first. Here is Chapter One of Prophecy:
BLURB
For
centuries the residents of Solsyl lived in peace and harmony with the planet.
Then the dragon-demons arrived, causing the Great Shuddering. Majikals from
everywhere scurried to find shelter from the evil while humans hid. Laud
regretted his rash decision of exiling the demons on Solsyl and asked one of
his advisors, a member of The Conscientia, to protect his people. Jeremiah
Holyfield agreed to leave the peaceful world of Revrum Natura for a life of
constant strife and fear on the newly renamed planet of Dracwald. But Narciss,
ruler of Tartarus and King of the demons, desperately wants what Jeremiah has
sworn to protect—a Prophecy of Narciss’s future doom. And Narciss refuses to
take no for an answer. But Jeremiah discovers allies along his path and even
true love, which he never dreamed possible.
But
forever is a long time to protect something without ever letting down one’s
guard.
Journal of
Reverend Jeremiah Holyfield
500 yl
Toxicorru Epoch
Haazbul
Village, Season of Torridaesta
Chapter
Three
Day
2: Lightdo
Within moments, the purple night sky eased into a rosy glow
that lightened by the second into a yellow halo over the Lucimons Mountains.
Destined for another scorching walk across the blazing sands without food or
water, I did not relish the fact. Besides, my burned face, neck, and hands
ached. I spread another coating of aloe gel across them enjoying the cooling
effect, but the grit from soot and sand scraped like sandpaper. I heaved a
mighty sigh.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Lucy asked. “But you haven’t any water or food, have
you? You seem to be injured, as well.”
I wondered how she knew before I realized I’d just been
thinking about it. “You read minds?” The fact I was sanely conversing
with a lizard while awaiting another miserable day and possibly my last, barely
fazed me. Last night I had been a human heater for the desert crawlies. Why not
have a cup o’ tea with a lizard? I decided I was probably going insane. My
brains had cooked from dehydration.
Lucy’s soft laughter filled my head. “How do you think
we’re talking?”
I’d been thinking the conversation without knowing it. Since
my throat was too swollen and dry to use, I couldn’t talk. “Oh, yeah.”
“I have an idea for
food and water. Head due west. You’ll come to a cacti forest. I’ll tell you
what to do when we reach it.”
With a lighter step, if it meant finding water, I took off
across the soft sand, which sifted around each step. The sun had risen, but not
donned its fierce face yet, when tall green structures appeared in the
distance. Cresting the peak of a dune, I saw the cacti forest Lucy had
mentioned. Stumbling through the sand, which pulled at every step, my heart
danced with joy.
Finally, I stood gazing up at giant spine-covered plants
wondering how they would supply the promised food and water. Towering well over
my head, with spines the size of fingers, I touched the smooth green skin and
shrugged. It felt dry.
“Carefully knock the small balls off the tops of the plants.
Beware the millions of spines. Use something to scrape the needles off each
ball then cut them in half,” Lucy explained.
Quickly I searched the nearby area. A long narrow knife-like shard of rock with
which to knock down and de-spine the balls protruded from the sand. Its tip
edge also opened a crack in the fruit, which I further opened with a finger,
cringing at the sharp pain it induced. Blackened skin on both palms cracked and
bled despite the aloe gel.
What I found inside the cactus nearly made me giddy with
joy. The pulp tasted bitter, but juicy. After scooping out the contents of
three balls, I pushed one of the halves toward Lucy, sitting on a nearby rock,
who demurely lapped at the juice.
“At least it is wet,” she said.
Once sated, I knocked down a dozen more balls, de-spined and
debated where to store them. The thought of them splitting in the rucksack and
despoiling the parchment was horrifying. The deep pockets of my trousers
provided a perfect repository. However, it now felt as though bouncing tumors
had grown on the fronts of my legs when I walked.
Although the sun’s effect had not changed, my outlook
had. The consumption of pulpy juice made
all the difference in energy and attitude. My pace quickened. Dropping my
hooded head, I strode purposefully west for several hours without stopping. The
sun slid past its zenith before a lack of energy forced another stop. Looking
up to see a large cluster of boulders merely paces ahead filled me with
delight.
Panting, I plopped in the shade. Excruciating pain from both
face and hands, lanced my brain. Lucy hopped onto the rock and ran down to
stand in my lap. Having been starved when we stopped last, I hadn’t studied
Lucy properly. She was beautiful. Red, purple, yellow, and blue stripes slid
down her back, while still more curled along her sides. Wide, intelligent amber
eyes watched my every move. Her lavender neck frill lay flat across her
shoulders, but I imagined it would be quite intimidating when raised.
“Thank you,” she
said, demurely dropping her eyes for a moment. “I’m concerned about
your burns. Have you nothing to help them heal?”
“Just the aloe plant I’ve been using.” I found it much
easier speaking aloud now that my throat no longer burned and after so many
years of solitude, talking aloud to myself in the chapel, I wasn’t comfortable
hearing only thoughts.
“Don’t look now, but a snake just poked
its ugly head from the crevice beside you. Once it comes out a little further,
drop a rock on it, and let’s
have lunch,” Lucy said in hushed tones, as though the snake might hear her
inside my head.
Rolling the opposite direction, I scanned the area for a
large rock. From atop the boulder, I then waited for the warmth of the sun to
entice the snake into our trap. It didn’t take long. In even less time, I had a
blazing fire with roasting snake on a stick. Luckily there were matches in the
bottom of the rucksack from a recent excursion.
But the dead tree in the middle of the boulder cluster was a sign from
Laud. After winding the snake on a stick, I secured head and tale by spearing
it then leaned the contraption over the fire.
While it roasted, I took a straight long branch and shaved a sharp point
at one end to use as a spear.
Once the snake had blackened, and my stomach could stand the
delicious cooking odors no longer, we ate a bit, the juice of a cactus ball
washing it down. Any appetite for actual food had diminished significantly,
perhaps due to the heat, but the cactus was a welcome sustenance. The remaining
snake meat, I wrapped in its skin, which got tucked into a trouser pocket
separate from the cacti.
Refreshed, it was time to resume our trek across the burning
sands. By nightfall, Lucy pointed out sprigs of grasses and stunted tree
growth.
“We must be nearing Negoc Woods,” I said. “Since I know
nothing about them, remaining at the edge of the desert seems most prudent.”
“Agreed,” Lucy
murmured.
“Crossing the desert at such a narrow point was a gift from
providence. I’m not sure I could have survived another day out there.”
“You did wonderfully, Jeremiah,” Lucy said.
Concerned about what creepy crawlies might find me in the
night again, I tried to sleep sitting up, leaned against the rucksack. Still
not hungry, we shared the bounty of another cactus ball. By the time the moon
was on the rise, sleep had fogged my brain. Through fitful dreams, which startled
me awake in a panic, over and over, I was sure to find myself covered with
desert nightcrawlers.
During one of the startled jumps out of sleep, Lucy said, “You can settle down, now. The snake and
spider carcasses are lying
around you as a warning. No one
else will bother you this night.”
I glanced around. The
glowing moon displayed the victims as described.
“Thank you, Lucy. You’re a Laud-send.” My soft whisper
carried away on the cool night air.
Here are the links and topics detailing where I’ll
be all month. Check them out and win PRIZES.
EXCERPTS
AVAILABLE TO READ:
GIVEAWAY:
Comment
on EACH of my postings (listed above with links) showing
you read the posting. Commenters will acquire ONE point per comment. At the
end, fill out the form on my blog, Under the Hat.
The
prize? This lovely Phoenix medallion and a bag of swag
including Odessa notepad, Seraphym Wars pen, Mind the Signs bookmark, coverart
Postcards for each book in both series AND an eBook copy of my newest release:
Harpies, Book Two Seraphym Wars Series.
Catch
Rebecca at any of these links:
BIO:
Rebecca Ryals Russell writes MG and YA
Dark Fantasy while living with her family in a Victorian house on five acres of
North Florida countryside. She also runs a Vacation Rental Log House on the
property: Florida Black Bear Cabin.
She is a fourth generation Floridian
having lived all over the state. The daughter of an Elementary-school principal
and school secretary, she always knew she was bound for the classroom and for
fourteen years she taught Middle Grades, preferring English and Creative
Writing. She had several students’ works published in anthologies as well as
her own poetry, photography and stories.
Her main interests are her four teenaged
and young adult children and Irish hubby of many years. She enjoys spending her
time writing, drawing, going to movies, reading, discussing philosophy and
politics with her college-aged son.
Be sure to check out the special
interactive Middle Grade Reader website Tween Word Quest for tons of information about
Stardust Warriors as well as the other projects Rebecca has in the works and Under
the Hat
for all of her other works.
TAGS: Rebecca Ryals
Russell, Seraphym Wars Series, YA books, YA Fiction Books, YA series, demons,
Seraphym, dragons, Dracwald, Vigorios, Prophecy, Odessa, Harpies
