Trial by Fire
Covencraft Book One
Margarita Gakis
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal
Publisher: Fable
Press
Date of
Publication: 6/25/2013i
Number of pages: 325
Word Count: 84,000
Cover Artist: Steven
Novak
Book Description:
Jade leads a structured
life:
Routine job.
Caffeine addiction.
No serious
relationships.
And now, she can
spontaneously set things on fire with her mind.
Well... perhaps
“normal” was never in the cards for her. As she questions her own sanity and
spirals out of control, a man appears on her doorstep and tells her that, like
him, she’s a witch.
Pulled in all
directions, her unbridled magic draws dangerous attention and Jade wonders if
she’s made the worst mistake of her life by joining a coven, or if she’ll even
live long enough to regret it.
About the Author:
Margarita loves the
art, creativity and romanticism of storytelling. Sometimes, however, the act of
putting pen to paper proves challenging, elusive. She develops genuine,
relatable characters which grow in the hearts of her readers. From that
foundation, the stories flourish into a warm friend.
She enjoys pursuits
which blur the lines between the analytical and creative sides of her brain.
This includes her day job in electronic data management, where she uses her
creativity to solve logical problems, and also her lessons learning to play the
cello, where she finds beauty in the structure of music and the instrument. She
believes there is a place for both logic and imagination to work together. When
they do, the results are magical.
Margarita has a
special spot in her heart for dogs and lives with three of them. It can be a
little overwhelming but the quality snuggle time makes up for it.
Margarita lives in
Calgary, Alberta with her family.
Twitter: @margaritagakis
EXCERPT
Paris waited
for a moment and followed Jade out of the grocery store, staying far enough
behind to not spook her. She started the walk back to her apartment, her
grocery bags pulling down on her arms, laden with bananas, coffee cream and
some other odds and ends he couldn’t quite see. Even with the bags, she kept a
brisk pace, not expending any extra motion other than her determined forward
walk.
She halted
suddenly and turned around. Paris spat out the quickest spell he could think
of, an obfuscation spell, one he hadn’t used since he was nine when he tried to
sneak by his mother with a bag of cookies. The spell hadn’t worked on his
mother - his spells rarely did work on her - but it seemed to work on Jade. She
stared intently at the space where he stood, but not directly at him. Most
people would stop, look and then move on. But she was doggedly determined,
staring at him for long enough that he thought she certainly must see him.
Surprisingly, none of her magic appeared to slink out of her toward him. It darted
all around her, like confused and abstract fireworks - jarring and unfocused -
but nothing came close to him. It was chaotic, distracted. It reminded him of
watching a hungry child find a buffet of treats - all excitable energy and
frenzy but no intelligence about it.
Jade finally
turned and started walking again, her first few steps slow and reluctant but
then speeding up and returning to her normal pace. He breathed out slowly,
waited a moment longer and followed. Jade’s power jumped around as she walked,
darting into corners, pulling ahead of her, reaching behind her. At one point,
it came dangerously close to him, and he wondered if he would have to use
another spell. He carefully pulled his own circle of energy back, folding it
closer to himself than he usually kept it. Her power danced around, like it was
looking for him, and then curled back toward her. He realized that was probably
how she sensed him before. He hadn’t felt it, but her power must have brushed
up against his, and somehow she had known.
A car
backfired, and although she gave no outward notice, she must have been
startled. He saw her power jump out of her, a dark indigo flash, and the
streetlight
above her
exploded. She stopped and glared up at the streetlight as glass and sparks showered
down a few feet in front of her. Jade set her jaw tightly as she looked at the
damage murderously. She shook her head sharply and continued walking. Like a
distracted puppy, her power skipped along in front of her, unconcerned and
oblivious.
Yeah and I already have a temper problem so that would not work out with me lol.
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