A. J. O’Donovan UK Trailhead 
http://ajodonovan.co.uk/?p=450

Voirey Linger US Trailhead
http://www.voireylinger.com/index.php?p=1_12_Trail-Head

 

I wanted to join the trail last year but had too much going on. So, this year I am participating with CONJURED, a WIP I am developing.

Hell hath no fury like a Goddess scorned.

This is a YA paranormal romance about a group of girls that stumble upon an ancient spell book belonging to the Goddess Brighid. The main character, Callie, doesn’t believe in magic or silly things. But that starts to change when she meets odd, but ruggedly handsome Orion, new student to NHHS. Orion isn’t really a foreign exchange student. He’s a knight held captive by the Goddess Brighid as payment for a love potion she conjured for Orion’s grandmother – the Queen of Ireland and Isolde’s mother. Brighid has sent Orion to get her book back so that she might escape her faerie prison and wreak havoc and revenge on the 21st century. Orion only has 4 months, when his constellation namesake disappears from the night sky, to find the book. If he doesn’t, he’ll either turn to dust or return empty handed to Avalon and face Brighid’s wrath. There are other magical beings determined to prevent Orion from completing his task, and then there’s Callie.

Here’s the first part of Chapter One

 

Callie had never believed in magic.

Her philosophy was if she couldn’t touch, taste, hear or see it then it wasn’t real to her. Even when she was little, she threw away all the Tinker Bell stuff and thought that Harry Potter stunk. She preferred chemistry to horoscopes, and she certainly didn’t pollute her mind with silly vampire romances like her friends. She believed in reason and cold hard facts. Except, there was no scientific evidence behind heartache, but the vise grip tighten behind Callie’s lungs each time she breathed. She’d caught Alec, her super-hot, captain of the baseball team boyfriend, cheating. The breakup had made New Haven High School headline news.

Usually, Callie would never have agreed to her best friend Sue’s off the wall get-togethers during the middle of the week. But the Momster – Sue’s evil mom – was out for the night, and Callie needed something, anything, to take her mind off the breakup.

Boxes of half-eaten pizza that June brought littered the dining room table, forgotten for the moment. They had moved to the living room to dance wildly to Lady Gaga and steal nips of the Momster’s Grand Marnier.

Once the song ended, Callie flounced in an overstuffed leather chair. She’d picked at her food and took larger sips of the nostril burning liqueur. Tonight, her heart wasn’t in the fun, and the way she felt, it might not ever be again. Hanging out was supposed to take her mind off Alec; it only added to her misery. Callie couldn’t manage to tell Sue the entire story of what she witnessed Friday night. Callie knew if she mentioned catching Alec in bed with Lilya during the Halloween party, well, the focus would shift to poor Callie. She kept the information to herself, and it had festered all week long, putting a damper on her spirits. Not that they weren’t all ready soggy.

The front door burst open, and Harriet Kildare blustered in, carried on the whipping wind. The door banged several times as Sue attempted to shut it. Harriet reminded Callie of Dorothy Gale in the middle of a tornado, and she stifled a grin. Harriet wore glasses and a ponytail, making the sixteen year old look fifty and constantly frazzled. Tonight, her hair was at extreme odds and had captured a few stray twigs and leaves. June rushed over and took Harriet’s fuzzy red scarf and old army jacket. Harriet was the prime example of eclectic. Sometimes, she even talked like a fifty year old woman.

“What took you so long?” Sue asked as she locked the front door.

“Have you eaten? There’s still plenty of pizza left.” June scrunched her face at the cold pepperoni and cheese.

“I’ve no time to eat. And this is what took so long.” Harriet pulled an ancient, leather bound book from the knapsack slung across her chest.

“What is that?” Intrigued, Callie sat up. The silver embossing that slithered across the book flashed in her eyes. She had never seen such artistic detail, and the way the silver caught the light made it appear like mercury slipped across the binding.

Harriet beamed with pride. “What girls’ night would be complete without this?”

“But what is it?” June stood over Harriet’s shoulder and tried to read. “What kind of writing is that? I’m in third year French, and that’s not French.”

Harriet snapped the book closed and a poof a dust escaped.  She stepped away from the other two girls and stood before the fire as it cast an eerie glow.

“Not yet, dearie. First we must prepare the room for what I have planned.”

“You’re not rearranging the Momster’s living room until you tell me what that thing is. I can’t have some kooky necronomi-whatever opened in her living room.” Sue placed her hands on her hips.

Harriet patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. It’s not the Necronomicon, it’s even better.”

“That’s not reassuring, Harriet.”

Callie’s fascination with the book pulled her closer. “Whatever it is, it’s old.”

Her fingers traced the silvery pattern. I shiver raced across her skin, and she withdrew her hand.

“Not just old, but powerful. Come on, June, help me push the couch under the window.”

Sue started to protest again, but she was powerless when Callie and June rearranged the furniture to make a large open spot in the center. Callie had hoped that Harriet would reveal more information, but she only barked out more commands. Sue disappeared to the kitchen to gather odd bits of herbs and a large stock pot because there wasn’t anything close to a black cauldron. Callie went through the Momster’s desk, looking for scrap paper and pens. June drew a circle on the custom wood floor. When Sue reemerged, she yelped at the chalk circle.

“OMG! The Momster will have a fit. That better come off, Harriet.”

Harriet didn’t even acknowledge Sue. Harriet scoured over the black book, hugging it to her chest. They regrouped and Harriet pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose and sighed.

“Excellent, we are ready to begin. Sue turn off the lamps while June lights the candles.”

Callie pressed her lips together, growing more skeptical. She started to voice her disapproval and turn away when Harriet grabbed her arm and thrust her into the center of the circle.

“Oh, come on. This is silly,” Callie protested.

The other two stood shoulder to shoulder beside Harriet, pouring over the pages.

“Now we must call the four winds. June you shall call the North, so stand there on the left. Sue, you’re the South, stand opposite of June. I shall call the East. And Callie you shall call the West. That’s where you must call for our little experiment.” She gave wink, aware of Callie’s die hard skepticism.

They took their places opposite of each other. Callie shook her head, resistance growing.

Harriet clucked at her. “This won’t work if you don’t believe.”

“But Harriet, I don’t.”

Harriet flipped through the onion paper thin pages. “Here it is.”

Callie stood on her tip-toes, trying to see the page.

“I shall call the circle, and then we each shall call the four corners,” Harriet continued.

“Really Harriet, where on earth did you get that book?” Callie asked.

A smile spread across Harriet’s lips. “Ask me again later.”

Callie rolled her eyes in response.

Harriet raised her arm, took a deep breath and said, “Ye Lords of the Eastern Tower, airy Lords of Spirit; let your influence of Power, aid our minds with merit! I do summon, stir and call you up, to witness these rites and to guard the circle.”

She passed the book to Sue and pointed to her part. Sue’s eyes glimmered as she recited her lines. “Ye Lords of Southern Power, fiery Lords of Will. Pray do grace your Tower, your powers to fulfill! I do summon, stir and call you up, to witness these rites and to guard the circle.”

The book was shoved before Callie. Everyone waited with held breath. She lowered her lashes and sighed. “Ye Lords of the Watchtowers of the West, watery Lords of Death and Initiation; I do summon, stir and call you up, to witness these rites and to guard the Circle.”

The moment the final phrase slipped from her tongue a shiver ran up her spine. The wind howled, rattling against the door and window panes. Callie handed the book to June.

“Ye Northern Lords of the Earth, though we be yet but Mortals; bless our work with worth, Boreas, guardian of Northern portals. I do summon, stir and call you up, to witness these rites and to guard the Circle,” June said breathless.

Harriet took the book out of June’s hands. She raised her hand again. “Goddess, I would know, as ’tis above, so ’tis below blessings on this work, please bestow! This be my will, true and free, I do so will, so mote it be.”

No one moved, and Callie looked between her friends and thought “that was it?” She started to turn toward the couch but Harriet stopped her with a command.

“Thou shall not break the circle.”

Callie froze with her eyes wide and focused on Harriet.

“Now for the fun part,” Harriet said. “Hand me the parchment.”

Callie bent over, picked up the paper and handed it to Harriet. She tore four even squares and gave everyone a piece.

“You must write on the paper the attributes of the most desirable man, and since this is for Callie–”

“Wait a sec. I do not need another guy in my life right now,” Callie protested.

“You don’t believe in this stuff anyway so what can it hurt? It’s just for fun,” Sue raised an eyebrow and smirked at her.

Harriet just shook her head. “Write the attribute down and then fold the paper and put it in the cauldron…or deep boiler.”

“Sorry, it was all I could find,” Sue shrugged.

“Do I really look that desperate?” Callie asked.

“Yes,” Sue and June said in unison.

Harriet handed out the pens, and the other three scribbled on the paper cupped in their hands. Callie stared at the pink scrap. She tried to think of some quality. She snorted and wrote ‘faithful.’

“Now, fold the paper and place it in the cauldron,” Harriet said.

Everyone followed her directions. She sprinkled the herbs and lit a candle.

Harriet handed the book to Callie. “You have to say the incantation.”

Callie sighed, trying really hard not to roll her eyes again. “If there be a perfect match, this work tonight will surely catch. The perfect one who is meant to be, shall find His way home to me. In perfect love and perfect trust, I send this out, this spell will guide us to unite, here tonight.”

Callie watched as the flames flickered, sputtered and then went out. Sue and June both said ‘ooh’ and Harriet said ‘shhh.’ Lightning sparked outside the window and the electricity went out. All four girls squealed. Harriet took the lighter and burned the contents in the boiler before she relit the candle.

“Harriet, you’re going to set the house on fire,” Sue shrieked.

The scraps quickly burned, and an odd smell wafted up with the curls of smoke, like someone had set a spice rack on fire. As the papers turned to ash, another flash of lightning streaked in the dark sky, and the electricity flickered back on. Callie’s heart raced, and she hoped Harriet was done with her silly magic trick.

Sue started to grab the boiler off the floor, but Harriet stopped her and said, “We have to release the four corners–”

“Do it quick. The Momster could show up at any minute. It’s after midnight.” Sue folder her arms across her chest.

Harriet gave them each the words to release the four corners. Once the magic circle had been cleansed, or scrubbed off the floor, and all the furniture had been returned, they each took a sip of Grand Marnier. Breathless, Callie collapsed on the couch. Her heart was lighter, and she released a deep breath. Perhaps, some bit of magic had eased her overworked brain. Well, at least for the moment.

Sue and Harriet huddled over the book, carefully turning the pages. They repeated phrases every now and then, stumbling over the foreign words.

Callie watched as their heads bobbed in silence. “So, what does that book say? How am I going to know this perfect dream man?”

Harriet’s gaze darted up. She grinned at Callie. “The wind is supposed to carry your wishes as ashes to Brighid to grant your heart’s desires.”

“But how will I know this dream man, from say a jerk captain of the baseball team?” Callie smirked.

Sue glanced over. “Well, I wrote a man who is noble and kind.”

“Oh my god.” Callie rubbed her forehead because the Grand Marnier made her lightheaded.

“And is gorgeous with a sense of humor,” Sue finished, with a triumphant smile.

“That’s generic,” Callie said.

“What did you want me to say?  Zac Efron? I think he’s taken.”

“Might as well, this isn’t even going to–”

“Shhhh! Don’t say it.” Harriet snapped. “I put a man whose loyalty never falters, and I said gorgeous, too.” She shrugged with a sheepish grin. “He needs to be very handsome to make what’s-his-name jealous.”

Callie blushed and the burn stung her cheeks.

“My turn, my turn.  I said a man with a sense of adventure and mystery. Oh, and gorgeous like Brad Pitt and a–”

“June!” Callie screeched.

“What? I was going to say cute butt. You guys have such dirty minds.”

Callie finally giggled, and the others sighed as if they had been waiting all night for her to do that.

“So the consensus is I need a Zac Efron Brad Pitt look alike to make Alec jealous?”

“Yes,” all three said.

“Tell us what you wrote.” Sue clapped her hands together.

Callie hesitated, thinking how lame her one word attribute had been. “I wrote a man with red hair, an accent from a foreign land, with shocking blue eyes, and loves the Foo Fighters–”

“Isn’t that a little too specific? And how did you get all that on the paper?” Sue interrupted.

“The idea was to write down the attributes I wanted, right?”

Sue shrugged. “Whatever.”

“Well, that’s that.” Harriet rose from the chair and grabbed her coat.

“Oh, hell no Kildare, you’re helping me clean out that pot,” Sue said and wrapped her hand around Harriet’s wrist.