Title: Elemental Earth
Author: Kinsey Knight
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Pages: 262
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kinseyknight
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KaydenMcLeod
Summary:
My name is Trinity Liathain, typical
human teenager to many. But reality is I’m a young fae, split between two very
different worlds. Just as I find a guy who I can be myself with, my little
corner of Blue Cove erupts in drama I’m not prepared for. The gauntlet to a war
that shouldn’t be mine is at my door, bringing creatures that terrify and
mesmerize me. I’m visited by ancient forces who for some reason, think I’m the answer to another dimension’s
problems. They grant me tremendous power to protect myself. From what, you ask?
If my short journey through life has taught me anything, it’s that the people
closest to you, make the worst enemies.
Excerpt:
A
tarantula the size of a football crawled over my book, clear liquid dripping
from its oversized fangs. Where the venom touched, chunks of my book disintegrated.
The chair
careened behind me as I jumped to my feet. Adrian’s growl shook the windows,
the only warning of my stupid mistake. He reached for me too late. Mr.
Conevetti’s stick arm shot around my waist and dragged me over the desk.
“You can’t
ssstop me.” His mechanical screech resonated through my eardrums. “He wantsss
her.”
I choked
back a scream as he gave up his glamour, revealing a horrific face caught
between an alien and an ant. I flailed, punching him in the neck,
shoulder—anything my fist blindly reached. His rock hard exoskeleton prevented
his injury. Cuts broke out over my
knuckles.
“Put her
down,” Adrian snapped, every pound the goblin royal.
“Trinity…”
My name coming from those pincers serving for a mouth was the single most
horrible thing I’d ever heard. He hissed at Adrian, who circled us.
I was
not, nor ever would I be a damsel in distress, waiting for her prince to save
her. Not in this lifetime, or the next. I sought any kink in his armor. I
elbowed the bug man in the face, gritting my teeth as his pincers sliced into
my flesh.
He
released me with a surprised squeal. I landed wrong on my feet. My knees ached,
but I ran. My momentum propelled me toward the terminals. I jumped, my foot
landing on the chair. I was airborne, flying over the grotesque spider and the
computers, thrashing awkwardly on my descent. The back of my head slammed
against the opposite terminal, changing my trajectory. I hit the floor, twisting my ankle. The shock
of pain on top of everything else forced a gasp from me.
The
spider dropped, scuttling across the floor.
“You all
right?” Adrian yelled. Under the row of desks, only legs were visible—a pair of
jean-clad ending in thick biker boots, and two sticks in loafers.
“I’m
good!” I lied through my teeth.
The
spider scurried closer. I ripped a keyboard out of its USB port, wielding it as
a weapon. The thing paused.
“Come on.
I don’t have all day.”
It jerked
as if it understood. It crept around me, I suppose seeking a weak spot. It
lunged, and I swung. I hit the rounded, furry body across the room like a
baseball. It hit the window with a sickening thump and didn’t move again. The
acidic poison from its fangs ate through the glass in a watery line. The rancid
smell intensified.
I peeked
over the walls of the desk. Adrian darted and weaved, the skill of a fighter
shocking me. Sure, every now and then a guy might scrap, but this was taking it
to another level. Mr. Conevetti wasn’t fast enough for him.
They
danced around each other in a primal, masculine array. Adrian bared his teeth.
“Trinity, for the love of the Goddess, run!”
Sounded
like a good plan to me. But I couldn’t leave Adrian. Not with a psychotic bug
fae. I tried to stand and almost toppled. My ankle throbbed. I felt my
heartbeat in my temple from where I’d slammed my head. The pain twisted my
stomach and sent bile up my throat.
“Yousss
will die in pain, goblin. Yousss fear death, and me most of all.”
Adrian
laughed. “I don’t think so, cursed one. I came into this world kicking, screaming,
and covered in someone else’s blood. I have no problem going out the same way.”
Using the
desks, I hobbled through the row, desperately grasping at anything I could
reach as the blood dripped down my arm. With every successful step, I breathed through
a little bit more agony. I’d adapt.
At the
end of the row, I flailed for a weapon, anything at all. A keyboard wasn’t
effective enough. The blue supply closet door was a gaping neon sign against
the monotony of the white walls.
Every
second that passed, the nearer I got, the smell became more repugnant.
My hand
rested on the doorknob. What lay behind door number one? Did I open it? Wasn’t
the wrestling behind me enough problems for one detention? I snarled, gripped
the door handle, and pulled.
I reeled
back as the door was thrown open against my will. I was tossed back, crying out
when a jab of agony convulsed throughout my calf. I blinked. Lying on the
ground with a milky blank stare, skin tinged grey and bloated, was the real Mr. Conevetti.
Author Bio:
Kinsey
Knight is a fantasy young adult author, who dreams big, and writes bigger. She
gets her inspirations from all manners of life and events that surround her. As
she embarks into the new world of Maeryn, she will explore the realm of the
fae, as her characters drag her through a journey that will not be soon
forgotten.
