This week I have a new release, Ghost Girl, one of my short prequel stories in my upcoming Elfhame Academy Series. You can get the story 0.99 on Amazon and read the excerpt below.
She’ll go to the end of the earth to get her family back.
Ivy likes to hide in the shadows. Her power of invisibility helps her do that and more.
Ghost Girl, as she’s called, moves unseen. After her parents tragically die in a car accident, she makes it her mission to bring them back. But the only way to make that a reality is by befriending an elven necromancer, but Jared isn’t who he seems…
Jared wants her powers, and will do anything to get them, including betray her trust and lure her into a trap.
Will Ivy succeed at her mission, or will Jared ruin her plans?
Excerpt
I couldn’t believe I was about to go in to meet an Elven necromancer. Everyone said Jared was the best. Besides, I didn’t have a choice. I’d tried everything else I could think of.
Light sparkled around me as I wrapped my power of invisibility around me and approached the townhouse. Its empty black windows stared out at me like lidless eyes. The streetlamps flickered as I approached. I glanced at my watch and realised it was midnight. I had expected a necromancer to live on a suburban street in the middle of Colchester. Thanks to my power, most people never saw me unless I allowed them to.
Heading up the steps, I approached the banged-up black front door. The front garden had brambles and high grass everywhere. Was I at the right place? This house didn’t even look like anyone lived there.
Stay cool, Ivy. You’re just here to make a business deal. And to ask an elf to resurrect my dead parents. I hesitated, then knocked on the door. One way or another, I had to make this work.
My mind drifted back to the night my parents had been killed.
“Ivy, this is the final straw. You can’t keep breaking into my workplace to steal experimental magic,” my dad snapped. “We’ve told you this a thousand times.”
The rain lashed against the car window. Light blazed towards us and the sound of tyres screeching echoed all around me. Both of my parents screamed, and the sound of crunching metal rang through the air…
Tears dripped down my cheek, so I wiped them away. I didn’t want to remember that.
Pushing the memory away, I knocked again. “Come on, answer.”
A few moments later, the door creaked open and a blond-haired man glanced out, as if he couldn’t see me. He towered above me over six feet. Earrings pierced his pointed ears, and he wore jeans and a long, dark trench coat.
Damn, I’d forgotten to uncloak myself again. I took a deep breath and pushed my long red hair off my face.
“Is there anyone there?” The elf turned, and I uncloaked myself. He jumped when he finally saw me. “Where in the nether did you come from?”
“I have been—never mind. Are you Jared?”
He narrowed his eyes. “Depends on who is looking for him. What are you doing here, kid?”
I felt frumpy next to him with my long red hair, blue eyes, pale skin, and black wings that peeked out the back of my short leather jacket.
“I’m not a kid. I’m a customer.” I crossed my arms. “And I need your help.” I raised my chin to show he couldn’t intimidate me.
I’d been to hell and back already. Nothing he said or did would scare me away.
“Fine, come inside.” He moved out of the way.
My mum’s warning about how I should never go into a stranger’s house rang through my mind. I ignored it. Mum was gone, and it was all my fault.
The hallway had beige coloured walls, and a scuffed, threadbare dark green carpet. Not what I’d expected the place to look like.
He led me into a small sitting room where an altar stood. The walls were whitewashed, and the wooden flooring scuffed and covered in dirt. Did this guy actually live in this place? Or use it as a hangout?
“So, what do you want from me, kid?” Jared asked. “Raising the dead ain’t cheap.”
“I know and I’ll do whatever it takes to pay your price.” I knew how risky that was, but what choice did I have?
“You haven’t got any cash?” He furrowed his brow. “Goddess, I hope you don’t expect me to hand out freebies. If you know anything about me, you know I don’t do that kind of thing. I doubt there’s anything you could offer me.”
