morning

The air was thick and made her suck in her breath as she stepped outside into the dark morning. The heavy rains from the previous two days had created a thick mist that hung in the trees like fake spider webs at Halloween. She hated mornings like this they always reminded her of a Stephen King horror novel she read as a kid.

Halfway home, Jake paused in his walk and stared at one spot between two houses. His fur raised on the back of his neck a low threatening growl emitted from his throat. She turned to see what he was staring at but the darkness was too thick. The hairs raised on the back of her neck and arms as she stared into the darkness.

With a sense of urgency she gently tugged on Jake’s leash and told him to go. They were almost home when a loud crash sounded from behind her, Jake whirled around growling again, and this time his teeth were bared. She didn’t want to look behind her but couldn’t help herself.

The streetlight’s rays came through the trees to shine on a black figure standing in the middle of the road. With her heart pounding in her chest she turned and ran towards the house, Jake sprinting next to her. She could hear the footsteps of the person behind her gaining.

A couple of hours later the earth under their feet seemed to shift, something was horribly wrong. They went and stood out on the front walkway and looked towards Falias. Momma gasped when they saw the black smoke rising from the center. A few minutes later someone came running down the walkway screaming that the UnSeelie the filthy creatures and broken down the Caelestis rock.

No wonder the earth felt funny the Caelestis was what kept Padua going strong, why would the UnSeelie do that? Momma made them run into the house and grab what they could for clothes and food, and then they went to Grandpapa’s and Grandmamma’s farm. It took them more than two hours to get there even though they used the bundle of grass to fly. Momma had to keep putting them back on the ground, because the UnSeelie army was trying to shoot her people out of the sky.

At the farm, Grandpapa sent them into the secret room built into the floor of one of the barns. They had her birthday in secret and Mamma tried to make it as fun as she could but they all had been secretly worried about papa. Mamma apologized for having to give her, her woman’s ceremony indoors. She promised that it would not make a difference to her power.

Prologue

She watched the fighting from behind the big oak up on the hill. Her hair normally blonde was now a dark brown from the blood and dirt. Her favorite party dress was a tattered ruined mess. She had looked forward to her birthday party for days and the day had started out so beautifully. It was her tenth birthday, the birthday every Seelie girl looked forward to, the one that made you a woman, the one where you got all the cool gifts, the one where you got your true power.

Then the warning bell had sounded, at first they thought it was a training session, but then it had sounded again. She had learned to hate the sound of that bell. When she was younger she had loved running upstairs with Papa to watch him put his uniform on. However, two years ago the UnSeelie started to come through the portals. At first, they were considered a nuisance but lately they were becoming bolder. When Papa ran upstairs to put on his uniform, she stayed where she was. Papa was a centurio in the Aghmach he had to go. Mama gave him a hug with tears in her eyes; he hugged Ankou and got down on one knee.

“My little Princess I am sorry. I will make it up to you. Hold your head high and listen to your momma.” She threw her arms around him and tried to hold the tears in. When she stepped away he cupped his hand around her cheek, then momma’s and walked out the door. She wished she had said something more but the three just watched as he ran back towards Falias.

Padua 2

Caelestis stood in the middle of the courtyard, you had to take four steps up and then she was eye level. A scarlet rope surrounded Caelestis, making a circle around her. Two Aghmach guards stood on each side; they stood with their backs straight, shoulders back, heads high facing forward. Their left hand was on their sword the right hung at their side. The only part of them that moved was their eyes and those never stopped scanning the crowds.         

Padua

I have to admit that when I first thought of the name for Michelin's familys home, I had never heard of the Italian city. But after seeing pictures of it on the internet I think there are parts of it that match perfectly with what I had always imagined Padua to truly be.

Never forget the dogs he murdered

"As the dog lay on the ground fighting for air Phillips grabbed its front legs and Vick grabbed its back legs. [They] swung the dog over their heads like a jump rope then slammed it to the ground. The first impact didn't kill it so they slammed it again. The two men kept at it... pounding the creature against the ground until, at last, the little red dog was dead." NEVER forget the little red dog and its sacrifice." 
taken from

The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick's Dogs and Their Tale of Rescue and Redemption by Jim Gorrant

Pentagram vs Star

Michelin is a witch, I describe in detail how she sets up to do certain spells. I had used the pentagram the usual symbol that witches and wiccans use in their spells.  Yet their is such a stigma with the pentagram that I am taking it out and describing another star. My book will be geared towards young adults. While I do understand that they grow up so much faster, after working in Barnes and Noble for two years, many parents didn't mind the mystical side of stories involving witches, vampires etc...They didn't like the "unnatural, or evil" side of the mystical. While this is not my personal belief, I am conforming to mainstream. I hate that I feel like a sellout, but I do want to get published.