Bright Fire
Bright Fire #1
by M.J. Austin
Synopsis: Delfia thought she was a normal girl about to turn sixteen
until her adoptive parents are murdered by creatures from the underworld. Her
life gets thrown into chaos as she teams up with her best friend, a strange
guy, and a prophetess.
She soon discovers her biological father, Hades, ordered the
attack on her and her family because a prophecy names her as the one to take
him down. She must first complete a set of tasks to free Persephone, her
mother, from the underworld and defeat Hades.
Will she be reunited with her mother or will she get sucked
into the underworld?
*Book is geared towards readers that liked Percy Jackson
Series, Need Series, etc.*
About the
Author: M.J.
Austin is the author of the Bright Fire series and NaNoWriMo 2014 winner.
She has always found the world of fantasy preferable to the real world. She
channels this love of mystical worlds and creatures into her writing. She is an
avid reader and proud bookworm. She has a Master's Degree in Project
Management, but her true passion is writing.
When
she isn't working or writing she is diving into random projects as often as
possible. She lives in Tennessee with three children, husband, and three dogs.
Connect with M.J.:
~ Amazon ~
Excerpt
Mondays are the
epitome of all evil. It's just a fact.
Do you ever get those
feelings deep in the pit of your stomach? The ones that make you feel all
queasy and anxious? Well, that’s how I feel right now. I am standing at my
locker at a way too early hour, and I am in Dragon Bitch mode; which is
surprising because today is my birthday.
Normally, I love my
birthday. I officially turn 16 at 11:59 tonight, and instead of reveling in the
excitement, am I staring at my locker without really seeing it. I just keep
trying to figure out what’s causing this annoying pinch in my stomach. I jump
when I hear the locker next to mine slam shut.
Lyla.
"Jeez, Lyla,” I
huff. “How many times do I have to tell you not to do that? Now excuse me while
I find a doctor to remove my heart from my nasal passage." I’m not in the
mood for the early morning antics of Lyla Browning, even if she is my best
friend.
"Soooorrry, but
it seems to be the only way to get your attention. I say 'Happy birthday, Dell'
and what do you do? You ignore me and stare at your locker. What is up with
you?"
"Nothing, just a
funny feeling."
She eyes me for a
minute, then shrugs her shoulders and in a matter-of-fact tone tells me,
"It's probably PMS."
“Yeah, maybe I
dunno...” I trail off, the feeling still bugging me. I understand that she is
trying to snap me out of it so I muster up some enthusiasm and sing, “Happy
birthday to me, happy birthday to me.”
She perks up
instantly, and before I can clamp my hand over her mouth she starts bellowing
out “Happy Birthday” in the middle of the hall that is seriously starting to
fill up. By the time she finishes, everyone is staring at us, and my face is
burning red.
“Aww come on, you
love me and you know it,” she beams.
I smile because I do
love her. Lyla and I have been best friends since forever. We first met in
kindergarten when this little twerp, Zach Moreno, decided to pull my hair, and
she punched him square in the nose.
We’ve been joined at
the hip ever since then.
“But hey, you should
be thrilled you’re turning 16.” she nudges me in the ribs a little.
“Yeah, I know, but my
parents still won't let me get my permit till I’m 18.”
“No offense, but your
parents are a little...intense.” She says.
“What do you mean by
that?” I ask getting a bit defensive.
“Well, it’s just that
lately they seem to be taking your safety to the extreme. You can't have
sleepovers anymore, a car or a life. I mean it’s sweet that they care, but I
thought parents got more lenient the older you get.” She fidgets with her wavy
blond hair, afraid that she has gone too far.
The truth is she’s
not wrong. My parents are great people, and I love them, but lately they have
been too over-protective. When I ask them about it they just tell me, “the real
world is full of dangers, kiddo.”
and that’s the end of
that conversation. “Yeah, I know, I’m sure that is just their way of showing me
that they care.”
“By the way, are we
still on for binge night Friday?” She sees right through my attempts to change
the subject. Binge night has been happening every Friday since the 6th grade.
We start off at the roller rink and end up at my place with a large bag of
cheddar popcorn, candy, and cokes.
“Uh, duh.” She says
rolling her eyes. She grabs her stuff out of her locker. “Come on, we have
homeroom.”
I turn to grab my bag
out of my locker when the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Everybody
gets those feelings now and then, but it was so intense I had to shiver to
shake it off.
“Dude, what is your
problem? Take a picture it lasts longer.” Lyla clicks her tongue, her usual
reaction when something annoys her.
I whirl around to see
who she is talking to and meet the gray eyes of Alec Hales, who is staring at
me intensely like he’s waiting for something to happen. He would be the hottest
guy in school if he weren't so weird. He continues to stare at me unabashed. I
can’t help but stare back.
“Come on,” she grabs
my arm. “This guy is freaking me out” She throws him the stink eye, and we head
to class.
I spend the rest of
the morning stumbling through class in a daze worried about that creepy stare.
I’ve never seen anything like it.
What’s worse is that
I’m pretty sure he’s the reason I had a chill that ranked 100 on the creep
factor. OK, Dell get a grip, I tell myself as I walk into the cafeteria.
I do my normal scan
and Lyla’s waiting for me at our usual table in the corner of the room, trays in
tow. We are not the least popular students, but we are definitely not a part of
the in-crowd. Lyla could be, but she sticks with me. Aside from her slightly
crooked nose, she is the picture perfect replica of a Barbie doll, with her
blond hair, green eyes, and mile-long legs. You get the picture. Me, on the
other hand, my height is OK, not too short or too tall, but my drab brown hair
and beanpole body are nothing special. The only thing I have going for me is my
clear blue eyes. Lyla always calls them hypnotic.
“Ugggghhh,” she
whines as she rolls her shoulders back and forth. “I think the teachers are
secretly evil demons sent to torture teens with tests on Mondays. Seriously,
who wants to take tests on Mondays?”
“Who wants to take
tests at all?”
She throws a piece of
lettuce at me. With a mouth full of food she asks, “What are your birthday
plans?”
“Dinner with the
family.”
“Same old, same old,”
she laughs “maybe we can do something special for binge night like go shopping
before the roller rink.”
“Yeah, that would
be...” I trail off instantly when I feel the same eerie feeling I had by my
locker. I lean into Lyla and whisper, “Is Alec staring at me?” She lifts her
head up, and I pull her down. “Can’t you be discreet?” I hiss.
She subtly does a
sweep of the cafeteria and relaxes, “Nope; nowhere in sight. Why do you ask?”
“I just got this
creepy feeling earlier and again just now. I thought maybe it was his intense
stare earlier.”
“Wow, I hope your
weird doesn't rub off on me. Do you think it happens to everyone when they turn
16?” she jokes.
I laugh
half-heartedly unable to shake the strange feeling.
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