They say you should never make a deal with the devil, but what about with the Prince of the Underworld?
Fresh off a breakup and an eviction, I started my day like any other: a book in one hand, a coffee in the other, and faking that can-do attitude inspirational memes are made of. I was ready to take on the world—and I did. Unfortunately, it was the Underworld.
One freak accident later, I’m standing face to face with the sexy-as-sin and dangerously powerful Prince of the Underworld. He has a few burning questions for me—like how a mere human unlocked the door to the Underworld’s prison and released its prisoners.
I’d sure as hell like to know, too, because I have no freaking clue.
Now, instead of a forgettable bookstore clerk, I’m newly famous for doing the impossible. The wrong people want to thank me, and the rest want me dead. Spoiler alert: The Dark Prince definitely doesn’t want to thank me.
I’ll do anything to get my life back to normal and he’ll do anything to recapture the escapees. We make a deal: He’ll keep my enemies at bay, and I’ll find a way to return the prisoners.
“I’ve been pulled into something that I definitely don’t want to be in, dealing with people I hope to never encounter again. I want it to be over. I want to have nothing to do with this situation or you dreadful people.” I lifted my hand, presenting the markings. “If working with you is the only way, then I’m in. If we are working together, no more threats. I don’t care how thinly veiled they are. You will not bully me. Are we clear?”
His expression changed but it was still indecipherable. Understanding? I don’t think that was it. Amusement? Definitely. Portentous? It better not be.
His lips curled slightly into a small, tight, mirthless smile. He looked over his shoulder at Anand who flashed a grin. “I’ve been commanded to behave,” Dominic said to him. The laughter in his voice made its way to his eyes.
“Little Luna.”
“It’s just Luna,” I shot back.
“Luna. You are correct. I want to find the person behind this, especially if it is a Dark Caster. I know their history and the chaos and destruction they enjoy. It needs to be stopped. And to do so, we will have to work together.” I’d been abducted and attacked by a vampire, sniffed by a lion, interrogated by a witch, and nearly devoured—or whatever his intentions were—by a wolf. I had every right to be overly cautious and I didn’t like the subtle undertones in his response. A limited alliance.
McKenzie, as a child, discovered that her life could be a whirlwind of adventures by simply opening a book. To this day, reading is still her favorite activity. She has a fondness for fantasy and mystery, which is probably why she writes urban fantasy.
When McKenzie isn’t working on her next book she is usually binge-watching paranormal and comedy shows, maintaining her title as “favorite auntie”, or trying to create a tasty low-calorie pizza. McKenzie loves to hear from her readers. Feel free to contact her via her website, Facebook, or email.
Title: Salt Kisses Series Author: Josie Demuth Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Starfish Island, a place where the human world and the magic world collide…
Seventeen-year-old Crystal White is the new girl on Starfish Island. Dragged to the remote community by her environmental activist father, she is eager to find fun that doesn’t involve touching fish guts or listening to local folklore.
During a midnight swim with some new friends, Crystal is pulled out to sea by the waves. Convinced she’s going to drown, Crystal is rescued by Llyr, a handsome stranger. As she searches for him in the following weeks, she finds there may be more truth to the Starfish legends than she thought.
Over a sizzling roller-coaster summer, Llyr introduces Crystal to magic she’d only ever dreamed of. But as Crystal comes to love Starfish Island, it begins to drive her family apart. A nearby power plant is devastating local marine life, and her parents are stuck in the middle. As the magic and mundane parts of Crystal’s life converge, she finds herself risking everything to save Llyr, her family, and herself.
Mine @2 I double-checked the message again. I was restless, I wanted to see Rosie now. What is this big secret? What does it have to do with Llyr?
I would now have to wait until two o’clock to find out.
I have a vivid imagination and it was rattling around in my skull like a hurricane right now. Is Llyr some kind of criminal on the run? Does he have to hide in the sea or something? Maybe he was a Starfish native and that was why only islanders knew of his hiding place… Where does he sleep?! He must get really cold out there all the time… Surely, he would drown at some point or catch pneumonia. What had he done anyway, and should I turn him in? Surely I couldn’t let my insane crush on him get in the way of justice.
I did a Google search on my phone, typing in ‘Most Wanted’ and ‘Coney Bay’.
A jokey news article came up about a kid who had released their goldfish into the sea and now wanted it back.
I screamed with frustration and threw my phone on the sofa, storming out into the back garden and down the ocean stairway.
It was a blazing hot June Sunday, but I didn’t care. I would search for answers. When I got to the jetty, I marched to the end of it, and I stood there gazing out to sea.
I must have looked a little strange to the neighbours standing so determined on the edge of the jetty, fists clenched at my sides, my hair yellow in the sun.
I was a woman on a mission, but with nowhere to mission to.
My eyes scanned the sea, begging for something, but asides from a fishing boat and a couple of gulls, the surface was barren.
“Darling!”
It was Mum. She was making her way down the stairs.
I sighed. “Hi Mum”
“Are you alright, standing around in the boiling heat like this?” she shouted.
“Yeah, I’m fine Mum,” I said distractedly.
She made her way down the jetty. She wore a big floppy black sun hat and a black fitted strappy dress.
“Are you off to a funeral?” I joked as she neared. It was surely not normal to wear such dark colours in the summer.
“I suppose I’m mourning London, Crystal,” she said putting her arm around my shoulders.
God, she’s so melodramatic. She’s probably trying to give Dad a guilt trip.
“It’s nice here,” I said reassuringly, as we looked out to sea. “I missed London to start with, but I’ve not thought about it one bit in the past few weeks.”
I was still scouring the waters.
“That’s great,” she said watching my face carefully. “But you don’t really seem yourself.”
“Oh… well, I’m fine,” I pretended.
My mum was silent, and I knew she was waiting for me to explain myself.
“Oh, it’s just this guy.”
“Oh, well, say no more,” she said, looking relieved. “Now, my motherly advice is keep cool, kid.”
I laughed, “Okay Mum.”
“Let them do the chasing.”
No danger of me chasing Llyr, I thought. I wasn’t even totally sure if he existed.
Josie is an author who writes the occasional article. She loves all things gothic and magical, but particularly a story which is fun, intriguing and says a little something about the world. She loves to write about weird and wonderful happenings in her hometown, London but also sets her tales in the mystical lands of the Westcountry, England and more recently, Iceland.
Josie’s novella Liggers and Dreamers was published by Thin Man Press in 2015 and was described as ‘beautifully written’ in a critique by bestselling author and radical poet Heathcote Williams. Meanwhile her YA Salt Kisses series – a new-age eco ‘mermance’ – has garnered nearly four million reads on story-telling site, Wattpad and tens of thousands on Radish Fiction app. The first three books are now published and can be purchased through Amazon.
Josie has appeared on the ‘Wattpad’s most successful authors tell you how to do it’ panel at WattCon, Foyles, SoHo. Her former zine, La Bouche, has also featured on the BBC Today Program on a feature about literary sub-culture; in LOVE Magazine’s TOP TEN ZINES, and in Thames and Hudson’s FANZINES. In 2009, it was selected as the ICA bookshop’s first ever ‘Zine of the month’.
Josie also writes short stories and articles. She hosts fantasy writing competition ‘Under The Sea’, which last featured NY-Times bestselling YA author Danielle Paige as the celebrity judge.
Title: Keeper of Souls Author: Harper Ray Series: The Revenant Trilogy #1 Genre: New Adult Paranormal
“What would you do if Death gave you a second chance?”
Most people who escaped death were relieved, happy to be granted that second chance at life. In my case, it was more of a curse than a blessing.
Everyday I woke, I was tortured with another soul. They all wanted something from me, but I couldn’t give it to them. Instead, I ignored them. I neglected the pain they had laced beneath their hollow eyes. I dismissed the screams that shattered my eardrums every time my head hit the pillow.
The souls took pleasure in patronizing me. They were a constant reminder of why I shouldn’t have been granted a second chance.
I had managed to escape Death twice, but the third time was my undoing. He came back with a heavy vengeance. Suddenly, I was thrown into a battle between two brothers. Heaven and Hell. Light versus Dark.
They both needed me on their side, but after facing Death for the third time, I wasn’t sure I would survive the cruel fate he had planned.
Slowly, I managed to pull myself off the hard ground, and rise to a standing position. I glanced around and noticed that all the souls I had seen earlier were gone. My lips dipped into a frown. That’s weird.
“Well, things just got…interesting, didn’t they, Ace?” the guy with dark hair taunted.
Ace sighed. “Why are you here, Deagan?”
His body was radiating an un-humanly amount of heat, so I took a few steps back, looking for an exit. The animosity between these two had me ready to bolt, but for some reason, I didn’t think Deagan would let me leave that easily.
I took another step back. Deagan took a few steps forward. There was something about him that made me want to run for the hills. He was dangerous, and that cocky smirk he had plastered on his lips told me that he knew it too.
“Where do you think you’re going, sweet cheeks?” he asked.
“Away from you,” I sneered.
His brows raised. “We’ve got a feisty one here. I like it.”
I clicked my tongue and turned around to bolt in the direction towards the exit. My ear-shattering scream filled the cemetery when Deagan materialized in front of me. I glanced behind me and back to him. “How did you do that?”
His sharp gaze was full of amusement. He was getting off on being a jackass.
A hand landed on my shoulder, pushing me back as Ace stepped between us. “I suggest you leave. You have no purpose here, Deagan.” His words came out clipped, and somehow, even I felt threatened just being in his presence.
My eyes narrowed. “I don’t need you to defend me.”
Ace glanced over his shoulder, and his gaze turned to slits.
Great, now I was on his shit list too. Why the hell was I still standing here?
“Already protecting her, huh?” Deagan pursed his lips, and the temperature outside raised the humidity twenty degrees. Sweat started leaking down my forehead.
Ace’s jaw ticked.
“Did you forget what happened the last time you interfered?”
Ace whipped his head in Deagan’s direction and crossed his arms over his chest. “The real question of the hour is what you’re doing here. We both know whose territory this is.”
Deagan’s stocky body stiffened. His obsidian gaze hardened. For a brief moment, I could have sworn I saw flames dancing in the darkness of his eyes. I shook my head, I really needed to get out of here, it seemed that I was on the verge of losing my mind.
As an author of young and new adult romances, Harper has a passion for writing stories that readers enjoy reading over and over again. Her imagination is the creative tool that helps her come up with several intriguing story lines that she hopes to share with the world. Her fans call her the “page turner author” because with each story she sucks the readers in, instantly hooking them from page one.
If Harper’s not busy writing her next book, she’s either digging into a sappy romance novel, binge watching Harry Potter or going to school full time.
