Gods of Chaos (Red Magic #2)
by Jen McConnel
Publisher: Month9Books
Release Date: March 31st 2015
Synopsis:
The gods of chaos cannot be trusted.
Since battling her best friend, Darlena’s grip on Red Magic has been shaky. She heads to Scotland after the Winter Solstice in search of another Red Witch.
On a sightseeing excursion with girls from her hostel, Darlena arrives at The Vaults, a mysterious underground city beneath Edinburgh. But there is something there that make Darlena’s instincts go haywire, as she lets loose a defensive burst of Red Magic, putting everyone around her in danger.
If there was ever a time when Darlena needed the help of another Red witch, it was now. But beware the witch who wields Red Magic.
The
beam of the single flashlight didn’t cut very far into the darkness, and I
paused for a moment to draw up a little Red magic. Even if Sandra said she
didn’t believe there were any ghosts down here, I wasn’t so sure, and I didn’t
want to be defenseless. My fingertips tingled as I followed the girls, and red
sparks caressed my arms. I stayed a few steps behind them, hoping they wouldn’t
notice.
Our
footsteps echoed on the earthen floor of the passageway, and Joan crinkled her
nose.
“It’s
all wet! I bet we’re in the sewer.”
Sandra
laughed, dropping her voice a bit. “These are the vaults, all right. Can’t you
feel the ghosts?”
Despite
her teasing, I felt something. But whatever presence was in the vault, it felt
nothing like the dead in the realm of Hades. I shivered and glanced behind us
at the receding doorway. The light from outside was almost gone, and the
flashlight gave off an eerie, blue glow as we descended deeper into the vault.
“Why
are we here again?” I called to Sandra.
“I told
you! Ghosts!” She chuckled. “But really, this used to be a city, with shops and
everything. I wanted to see it for myself.” She moved forward as she spoke, and
Joan and I followed her, watching the thin beam of the flashlight bounce along
the corridor. My skin prickled along my neck, and I struggled to ignore the
strange sensation.
“But
why isn’t it being used now?”
“I
don’t know, but it hasn’t been used for centuries.”
The
light flickered.
“Sandy,
be careful!” Joan’s voice sounded tight.
Sandra
laughed. “You girls are such drags. I thought you wanted an adventure.”
I
caught a whiff of sulfur. “Something isn’t right.”
“Not
you, too?” Sandra sighed heavily. “How did I get stuck with two big scaredy
cats?”
Joan
whimpered. “I want to go out now.”
The
light moved ahead, and Sandra’s voice called from further down the tunnel, “The
only way out is through!”
The inside of my nose
burned, and I suddenly identified the smell. Hecate always smelled of sulfur.
Panic gripped me. “We need to leave. Now.”
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Jen McConnel first began writing poetry as a child. Since then, her words have appeared in a variety of magazines and journals, including Sagewoman, PanGaia, and The Storyteller (where she won the people’s choice 3rd place award for her poem, “Luna”).
She is also a former reviewer for Voices of Youth Advocates (VOYA), and a proud member of SCBWI, NCWN, and SCWW.
A Michigander by birth, she now lives and writes in the beautiful state of North Carolina. She's a graduate of Western Michigan University, and she also earned her MS in Library Science at Clarion University of Pennsylvania.
When she isn't crafting worlds of fiction, she teaches writing composition at a community college. Once upon a time, she was a middle school teacher, a librarian, and a bookseller, but those are stories for another time.
Thank you so much for helping me celebrate the release! <3
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