Looking for YA urban fantasy? Fantasy Sci-Fi Network's Louise G.White may just have the dose you need with her second book in the Gateway series, Chasing the Demons released June 30th.
Urban fantasy is a sub-genre of fantasy defined by place; the fantastic narrative has an urban setting. Urban fantasy exists on one side of a spectrum, opposite high fantasy, which is set in an entirely fictitious world. Many urban fantasies are set in contemporary
times and contain supernatural elements. However, the stories can take
place in historical, modern, or futuristic periods, and the settings may
include fictional elements. The prerequisite is that they must be
primarily set in a city. Wikipedia
The system has been changing; the Agency flaunts its cruel practices,
and the balance of the realms has been disrupted. Ethan's enforcers are
already stretched to the limits, and things get worse when alliances are
forged between the worst of the demon realms. Meanwhile, on Empustat,
Carolyn has spent an entire year being "reconditioned" - her memories
being wiped and replaced in order to produce a limited and vapid
princess. Under the constraints of the Chief, she is no longer the
feared and mythical "destroyer" Carolyn's life of privilege is marred
only by the expectations held for her to marry Peter and produce heirs
for the realm. Her friend, Mario, in contrast, has suffered hardship and
humiliation at the hands of the Lilim guard - and a chance encounter
will spur Carolyn's awakening. The disabled gateway has frustrated the
team's efforts to reach Carolyn, and Ethan and Note can barely tolerate
each other, but both mage and demon share the same goals. Hope by way of
an unexpected source leads to the team embarking on a plan so daring
that their survival hangs in the balance. With old and new friends from
the realms, the fight for order continues.
What Readers are Already Saying;
"...was at the edge of my seat the whole time... Another great installment by Louise G. White." 5 Stars
"There is so much more action and twists. It will keep you guessing as to what will happen next." 5 Stars
"You won't be able to put down this new and compelling edition to the fantasy genre." 5 Stars
An Excerpt to Tempt You;
Prologue
Where now are my strength and
my cocky self-assuredness?
thought Mario as he shovelled mouthfuls of slop into his mouth. I’m nothing. I’m little more than an animal
struggling to survive, hoping somehow that my folly has not ruined the lives of
so many others that I’ve come to care about. Thrusting the empty bowl away
in disgust, he knew that his ill humour wasn’t just about the food.
Here sits Mario, the only Lilim of his
adopted world and the most important being on this world,
currently delirious in self-derision believing he cares for others who exist on
or around his world.
A harsh, self-mocking noise erupted from
Mario’s lips. Thinking of oneself in the
third person is sure to be a clue as to how well my mental health is faring. I
should congratulate myself.
Nights and days had passed, Mario being
haunted by faces that bore eyes of a much missed range of shades but that
pierced and tortured him.
The Lilim’s body trembled, and he traced
a symbol in the air that shimmered with his residual magic. The small act would
ensure the solitude he felt he needed until he gained composure.
The horrible food was a stupid ploy, a
way of distracting his thoughts from what was really bothering him. Working
under the Protectorate, there had been times when he had made do with worse
fare than this. But not every stinking
day.
He ate also to try to keep up the
strength he had managed to retain. Were it not for what he had learned under
Sean’s instruction, he would have been trapped there with nothing but his
shield and Lilim guile … Not
that the latter did him much good with the Lilim guards, and his skill worked
not at all with stronger Lilim like their leader, Arthur. Mario had deemed it
not worth the effort to try influencing Peter or Patrick of the Chief’s inner
circle, sensing the measure of their strengths. Both could make his life even
more difficult than it was now if he challenged them.
Suspecting Peter to be the stronger and
more focused of the two, the Lilim was certainly crueller than any other Lilim
he had met. At Arthur’s right hand, Peter had access to whatever he wanted –
and Mario had to hope that his benefits did not include Carolyn.
Shaking the thought away, a greasy lock
of Mario’s hair slapped his face. Irritated, he smoothed it back. If things had
gone differently – if life had been fair – then he would have returned to the
others and been able to experience life as an adult. But here he sat, trapped,
not only by the bars that surrounded him but in the body of his fifteen-year
old self. The perpetual pubescent form mocked him, tormenting him much more
effectively than anything his captors could envisage.
When he had first met Carolyn, he had
been taken with the fact that she was the destroyer, and there had been no clue
of her being part-Lilim. In “surfing” her mind, he had abused his ability,
citing his impetuousness as being to blame, and she had been more forgiving
than he would have been given the same circumstances.
How could it be that he had been in her
mind and not recognised the signs? Even in hindsight, he could not recall
anything that would have suggested her heritage. Certainly, she had the good
looks of the Lilim, but there had been nothing else. Had the strange mix of
everything else she happened to be messed up the markers?
Unlike in many other races, Arthur had
become the Lilim Chief not through accident of birth but because of his
superior powers, and he was the Lilim to whom Mario owed his inability to age.
It had seemed like a good idea at the
time to run off to a life with the humans, and the thought of the first few
months with the human beings almost raised a smile. Mario had left trouble in
his wake and caught the attention of Sean. Never before had he known such a
powerful magic user, and the mage had been harsh with him while accepting the
risk of Mario’s apprenticeship. It had seemed strange that the first meaningful
relationships on his new world had been with a collection of fellow magic users
and enforcers. When the full effects of his punishment had become apparent, he
had trusted in Sean’s abilities to reverse the process and re-enable his
ageing, but all attempts had been fruitless.
Living apart from the Lilim for so long,
Mario had forgotten how they operated. Wearing nothing but filthy combats that
covered his legs, he had been left in the cell to rot. Marking time by scraping
his nails on the slabs beneath him, he noticed that the scarred slabs bore
similar designs from previous occupants, but he sensed that his were the only
ones of recent years. This type of treatment of imprisonment was reserved for
the worst of high-born Lilim who it was judged could not be controlled or rehabilitated
properly.
He scored the seventh scratch through the
six faint lines that marked the passing of another week, wondering if his
captors were also marking time – the time before they put an end to him. He
imagined that he had been incarcerated for three weeks following their most
recent attempt to “rehabilitate” him; it had surely not been more. Some days
had been worse than others, and Mario was uncertain of whether he had marked
all of the days since their capture.
How had the
Lilim known to expect them?
He was certain that they had been
waiting.
He had learned that Carolyn was not just
any interloper on the realm of Empustat; she was Arthur’s daughter by blood.
Could Arthur have traced her presence by blood alone? The fact of the blood tie
should have given him hope that her lot would be easier, but Mario burned with
an unfamiliar emotion – shame – at
the thought of what could be happening to her.
Strangely, he felt almost as bad for her
Kistatus demon, Note. The pair had indeed been something to behold.
Unbelievably, she had Anchored to the snake-demon after two years of being a
pure untamed destroyer, policing the gateways without the Protectorate safety
net. That net had proved tenuous when her breeder status had emerged, forcing
her to accept Note’s Claiming in order to protect her from other demons. Other
races would be compelled to do whatever it took to acquire her, in the
interests of the furtherance of their species. He still didn’t understand the
decision of the pair to mute the more physical effects of the Claiming. Things
might have been very different if they hadn’t have watered down the process.
Apart from the obvious advantages – and
it was perhaps the hormonal effect on his teen body – Note and she would have
been inseparable. The Kistatus should never have let the destroyer out of his
sight. And how long ago was it that
Note’s claim had become invalid? How long did she have before her father would
gift her to some Lilim powerful enough to succeed him and ensure his continuity
in the mechanism that ruled the land? And what of Carolyn? All of her
skill, passion, and ferocity would be lost – just like Mario’s ability to age.
They had come to Arthur’s realm at
Mario’s insistence to steal an artefact from the race to help restore his ageing
to Lilim normality, but the Chief had taken charge of both of their lives as
forfeit. Didn’t the punishment fail to
fit the crime – especially given that Carolyn’s moral code would have led her
to return the artefact? Mario clung to the hope that both of them could
make it through this. Otherwise, why
continue to exist?
He curled his fingers, tangling grubby
fists into his dirty hair until the flesh stung furiously. Who I am trying to deceive? He had failed in his responsibility to
Carolyn. She had confessed her shield failure when they had come to Empustat,
and he had been blasé, telling her that he could adequately protect the pair of
them.
Even now, he could make excuses for his
egocentrism. If they hadn’t been discovered and hadn’t needed to fight then
they could have accomplished their goal and returned to the relative security
offered by the Protectorate.
Uncurling his fingers, Mario remembered
the look on Carolyn’s face as she had succumbed to the attack. They would have
“conditioned” her by now, taken everything from her mind that they didn’t need
her to have. In a similar way to what had happened to Sam, who cared for them
back home on Earth, his people would have reduced Carolyn to a shadow of her
formal self.
Damn it all to
hell. Her mind would be mush!
Mario cares. He should make a note of it
in his diary.
Book 1 of the Gateway Series;
On the run and hiding from the suits , Carolyn s life is far from
straightforward. After her mother and brother go missing in a most
extraordinary way, (through a hole to another world which appears in the
kitchen wall!), she is determined to track them down and bring them
home. But life is never that easy! Rescued and protected by a group of
unusual and likeminded people , Carolyn hones her magic and fighting
skills. Whilst answering a call to retrieve a human from another world
she s faced with a quick decision and ends up bringing a demon back with
her. Little did she know what effect this demon would have on her. As
each day passes her strengths grow and her magic develops to assist her
in her quest to track down her family, but there are decisions to make
that will affect the rest of her life.
About the Author;
"I've had a variety of jobs, including waitress, library assistant,
nurse, and police officer. I hold a BSc in Health Studies, and a PG
certificate in Primary Education. The scenic west coast of Scotland is
where I live with my family.
My varied life experiences were not
strictly by design, but have likely given me fuel enough for the next
few decades of of writing. Fortunate enough to come across some of the
most amazing real life characters, there's been good, bad, and downright
ugly at times. I can say the same for many of the situations in which
I've landed. Let's face it, delivering a baby to an adoring couple is as
far away from the reality of bagging criminals as you can get. And yet,
I've been passionate about all the jobs I've done, soaked in the
experiences, and blanked out the worst ones for the good of my mental
health. But they are all there, happily bubbling, or festering away, to
be recalled when I need them.
I didn't set out to write Fantasy, but
when I sat with my laptop to begin The Calling, It became apparent that I
still believed in the Bogey Men, the Monster in the cupboard and of
course, the Faeries at the bottom of our garden. Suddenly I found that I
was writing a story of perhaps less than willing, but more than able
'Real to me' Heroes who could be found both on our doorsteps and in the
realms that lie beyond."
Books Available at;
The Calling- Book 1
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Chasing the Demon- Book 2
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Kobo
Connect with Louise;
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