Hi there! Today, it's my stop at The Broken Destiny blog tour and I have not one, but two! excerpts from the novel for you!
But first, a bit something about The Broken Destiny:
Her Destiny is to Rise against the fall that threatens to take her soul. Her soul is the Key to unlocking a secret weapon.But to know her soul she has to hate it first, and then come back from that. Her Destiny starts with Betrayal.
It is written by Carlyle Labuschagne and it will be released in 2012, and it doesn't have a cover yet. (but I don't doubt it will be pretty)
Okay, now, excerpt number one: (both are from Chapter 9)
The Broken Destiny
Chapter 9
The Fall
The icy air stung my cheeks. Shivering, I pulled my legs in close to my chest, not taking my gaze off the ocean. I wondered about the creatures in the ocean and tried to imagine what swimming beside a school of fish would feel like. I wanted to touch the coral. It had seemed so beautiful in all the pictures I had seen of it. I drew in a deep breath of the crisp ocean air. Things are changing again. The return of the seasons is a sign, I mused. I attempted to steady my breathing and take control of all the emotions that were welling up inside of me. I was sad, angry, lonely, frustrated and hurt. It hurt that Sam could betray me like that. Then, all of a sudden, I smelt a putrid odor somewhere near me. I recognized it immediately. I should not have walked out so far, I scolded myself. Panic swept over me. I quickly looked behind me. The beach was deserted. I jumped down from the rock and scanned every inch of bush and searched behind every rock in the area. I crouched down beside the rocks, trembling. Think, think, think. There is no one here but you. My skin came alive with adrenalin. It began to burn and became sensitive to the fibers of the cotton shirt beneath my many layers of clothing. I could feel the vibration of the water pulling away from the coarse sand. I was on full alert. The sharp odor stung my nose and made me feel nauseous. He was nearby. I grabbed a piece of rock near my feet, the coldness of the stone stinging my palm. I jerked myself up again.
“Come and get me!” I yelled.
My knees were weak and trembling and my heart pounded against my chest. A sharp pain shot through my head, a white fire burned in my mind and the air blew out of my lungs. I was struggling to breathe, but I held my ground, squeezing down harder on the stone. The pain subsided for a moment and I drew in a deep breath, the air in my lungs very welcome and greatly comforting.
“Coward!” I screeched. “Come out and face me!” I yelled, although deep down inside I was hoping he wouldn’t. My throat pulled tight. I will not cry, I adamantly told myself.
The breeze twirled around the bushes beside me. The air was thick and stifled my lungs. The waves crashed gently. All else was silent.
“Just as I thought,” I murmured to myself.
I needed to make a run for it if I was going to get back to Arriana’s alive, but once again pain shot through my head like a rocket was taking off inside of me. He was toying with me. I fell down to my knees and compressed my head between my hands as hard as I could. The pain was insane. It felt like my head was about to burst open. There was nothing but the pain. It blocked out all my other senses. Using all my might, I tried my hardest to squeeze the white fire out of my brain.
“Help!” I yelled as loudly as I could, but I knew that it wasn’t loud enough for anyone to hear.
It was as if I was in one of my dreams where I kept calling out but no one could hear me. The sharp pain hit me once more, but this time it did not come alone. There in my mind was the white painted face. It taunted me with its big, jagged, yellow teeth and its hard black eyes. I have been here before and I have won before. I will win again, I tried to convince myself, but the doubt crawled back in. No one knows where I am, I started to panic again. I screamed as the pain shot into my chest. The white fire in my mind intensified and the face’s prominence tripled. I’m losing consciousness, I realized. I could feel my feet going numb and the sounds around me were disappearing. I’m dying.. A moment later I opened my eyes and frantically searched for the rock I had dropped. The potent odor still hung in the air around me. I noticed a pair of legs walking over to me. I knew it was him. The smell was settling in the sand before me. At first I didn’t register the a red bike was standing in the background. I lay coiled up on the cold sand, my hands still clamped over my head in an attempt to push the pain out. I drew on every shred of courage I had and swung myself up, fully ready to strike him with the rock in my hand. I hoped I could knock him down before I passed out from the pain. I tried to focus on the figure in front of me, but the white face was right in front of me, leering. Is it real, or is it still in my head? I wondered. Confused, I lunged forward, swinging wildly. I felt a warm hand encircle my wrist. As soon as I felt its warmth on my skin I let go. The white fire burned into my brain and the face, that horrid face, imprinted itself in my mind. I yelled out in frustration, or it might have been pain. I felt myself being lifted off the ground. I stopped resisting when I realized how easily my body cradled around his. It was Troy. I still couldn’t see his face, but I could smell his signature scent of sandalwood, the ocean and something sweet. I no longer fought for consciousness, but let myself drift away, and into him forever.
Aaand number two:
The Broken Destiny
Chapter 9
The Fall
He pushed me back onto the couch and kissed me fiercely. My head was spinning, my legs a cold fire. I grabbed him by his collar and held him away from me.
“No!”
“What now?”
He got off of me, sat next to me, put one of his long arms around my neck and gave me a wicked smile.
“Is this all I am to you?” I asked.
“I like you, Ava. I like you too much for my own good.” He pulled me closer.
“He’s no good for you, Ava.”
I turned my head to where Maya was leaning against the wall. Her arms were crossed over her chest. I hadn’t heard her approaching. I had been too distracted. I felt myself turn scarlet. I got up from the couch, glared at Enoch and walked over to Maya.
“Goodnight,” I said to both of them and retreated to Maya’s room.
I couldn’t sleep at first as excitement and anxiety built up inside of me every time I thought of Enoch and how wonderful it felt when he kissed me. I couldn’t imagine what Maya and him were discussing. I wondered if I would be asked to leave in the morning. I knew it had been wrong to do what I did, but I couldn’t figure out why, if it was wrong, it felt so good. I fell asleep before Maya climbed back into bed. I didn’t dream that night. It felt strange for me to not dream. It felt like I wasn’t breathing properly.
Weeks had passed without Enoch mentioning what he and Maya had said to one another that night. We had begun to live in a distinctive pattern. The warriors were gone most of the day. They spent their time training, or recruiting younger warriors. Arriana and Anaya ceased their usual village duties to intensively train Maya and me in the ways of mental focus. They taught us to build on our existing talents. Kronan brought small injured animals for Maya to practice on. At first she could only heal cuts and bruises, but she could eventually heal broken bones. I couldn’t harness my powers. I couldn’t do anything with my mind. Nothing had come to me yet. It was as if I had no powers at all. An important lesson we learned was that our actions had consequences. I didn’t see it at first. Maya tried to read my mind and I tried to read hers, but after numerous fails we guessed that our species didn’t have that ability. So far, healing was the only ability she possessed.
When Enoch came home from a day of training he was exhausted, battered and bruised. I used to tease him about getting old. We were seeing each other on the sly. He wouldn’t admit it, but I knew it. I denied it too after a while. I could feel passion in his kisses and in his touch. I was totally infatuated. When we were together nothing else mattered. The heat between us was self-explanatory. I mistook it for love. Even though he had never said it, I had assumed it. He became gentler and less angry with each passing moment we spent together. I mistook that for love too. For a while it felt like I was on top of the universe. I didn’t realize that I was about to fall.
Me - loves them! You? Tell me what you think about in the comments.
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http://www.carlylelabuschagne.com/
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Oooooh exciting!! Thanks for sharing, Tamara and Carlyle!
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