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

 

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, Meghan, doesn’t believe in magic. That starts to change when she meets odd, but ruggedly handsome Orion, a new student in her high school. 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 until the constellation he was named for crests the autumn 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. Orion’s not hte only one after the spell-book. Other magical beings are determined to prevent Orion from completing his task, especially a wickedly handsome elf prince named Thorn.

Here’s the first part of Chapter One

 

{Originally, participating in the Reading Trail meant contributing a large portion of the story…I’ve trimmed this to a small excerpt…Enjoy!}

Chapter 1

Bell, Book, and Candle

Lightning streaked in the distant sky followed by a clap of thunder. The air in the house even zinged with an electrical current. Meghan folded her arms over her chest and squinted into the dark living room. A second flash revealed two silhouettes approaching her. Soo Lin held an Old Yankee Bayberry scented candle in her hand, and Livy carried a spell book from the used bookstore. Their devious grins looked more sinister illuminated by the flickering candle. And to think, they were her best friends.

“This is a good idea, why?” Meghan asked again, her voice cracked with growing annoyance.

“Trust us,” Soo Lin said.

The spell book wasn’t the only silly thing her two friends had picked up during a trip down Main Street. A sticky sweet smell, like burning cherries, drifted through the room. Soo Lin insisted authentic rituals used incense. She said it cleared the air of negative chi – whatever that was – but it gave Meghan a headache. Livy waved a plastic silver wand and looked like the Good Witch Glenda with her blonde hair piled on top of her head. Meghan tried not to roll her eyes, fixing her gaze on the book instead. In unison, the other two girls closed in like the diabolical witches they were pretending to be.

Meghan didn’t believe in magic, like fairies, and wasn’t the least bit superstitious.

Her philosophy was if she couldn’t touch it or taste it, hear it or see it then it wasn’t real. She would have never agreed to this ridiculous séance-conjuring thing Soo Lin had planned if it weren’t for Alec. As of seventy-two hours ago, Meghan and her captain of the basketball team boyfriend were history.

Despite the lack of scientific evidence explaining heartbreak, she felt it like a vise grip tightening behind her lungs with every breath. She’d caught Alec cheating with the rival school’s head cheerleader, and he’d still lied to her about it. The breakup had been New Hampton High School front page, blogspot worthy news. She needed whatever retarded thing her friends came up with to help her forget the worst Monday of her life. Soo usually had the best of intentions, though Meghan was starting to have her doubts.

Boxes of half-eaten pizza littered the dining room table, cold and forgotten. They had moved to the living room to dance wildly to Lady Gaga and steal nips of Livy’s mom’s Grand Marnier. That was all before Soo and Livy brought out the white plastic bag and turned out the lights.

While Livy read off the page of the spell book, Meghan stared at the flickering flame. Her scalp tingled like that flame wavered just under her skin. She backed away as her two friends neared, and the smooth, chilly mantle pressed into her shoulders. She was trapped.

The front door burst open, and something blustered in as if riding the wind. The candle in Soo Lin’s hand sputtered out and they squealed. Livy switched the lamp on. All three released a simultaneous sigh when they recognized Harriet.

The door banged against the wall several times and Soo rushed to shut it. “What took you so long?”

Harriet reminded Meghan of Dorothy in the middle of a tornado, and she bit back the urge to ask if she forgot Toto. Their fourth friend wore glasses and her hair pulled back in a ponytail, making her look constantly frazzled. Tonight, her hair was at extreme odds and had captured a few stray twigs and leaves. Livy rushed over and took the other girl’s fuzzy red scarf and old army jacket. Harriet was the epitome of eclectic.

“Have you eaten? There’s pizza left.” Livy scrunched up her nose at the cold pepperoni and cheese.

“This is what took so long.” Harriet pulled an ancient, leather bound book from the knapsack slung across her chest.

“What’s that?” Intrigued, Meghan perked 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 and cracked the book open. “What girls’ night would be complete without this?”