Children of Lightning
Author: Annie K. Wong
Publication Date: September 27th, 2014
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Author: Annie K. Wong
Publication Date: September 27th, 2014
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Book Description:
Secrets beget secrets. The curse that befell the Hollows clan has
left them incapable of producing male offspring. To extend their
bloodline, they have formed a covenant with the serpentine Ophidians,
who give them children. In return, the Hollows must keep these monstrous
creatures well fed, though the details of the procurement are so
abominable that the truth is never revealed to the other clans. In their
homeland of Matikki, they live like outcasts.
Through a series of chance discoveries, the secrets of the ancient curse unfold before a warrior named Writhren Hollow. Is her purely female clan the result of a lapse of divine providence, or are the Hollows themselves victims of an enslavement scheme?
If Writhren frees her clan from the covenant, she risks the wrath of the Ophidians and the future of her bloodline. If she keeps the truth of the curse to herself, she is a traitor to her own kind. Either way, she will suffer for what she must do.
This is not a story of redemption, but regret. This is Writhren’s story.
Through a series of chance discoveries, the secrets of the ancient curse unfold before a warrior named Writhren Hollow. Is her purely female clan the result of a lapse of divine providence, or are the Hollows themselves victims of an enslavement scheme?
If Writhren frees her clan from the covenant, she risks the wrath of the Ophidians and the future of her bloodline. If she keeps the truth of the curse to herself, she is a traitor to her own kind. Either way, she will suffer for what she must do.
This is not a story of redemption, but regret. This is Writhren’s story.
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Excerpt
Slowly, the man lifted the strap of his bag from his shoulders. Kiri pointed her dagger away to give him space for the manoeuvre, when with a sudden twist of his hand from inside his sleeve he produced his own dagger. He swatted with his blade and knocked Kiri’s dagger flying. A quick reflex enabled her to grab it by the hilt before it reached the ground. She charged back at him.
“Get the boy,” she said. Her eyes flared with rage.
Tithren ran after the lad. A leap and a pounce easily landed her on top of him, and he bit, clawed and punched in vain. With one hand, she locked his wrists with an iron grip. With her other hand, she held his neck down with a firm but gentle throttle. He spat at her. She squeezed, and for a moment, enjoyed the power she had over the boy, watching him as he choked and suffered under her wrath. In that moment, with her hands around his throat, she realized that she wanted to kill him. She would enjoy it. This twisted satisfaction fuelled her serpentine mane and they hissed and struck the child. Tithren pulled back, shocked by her own instinctual cruelty and thirst for blood, her neck straining to keep the hair-snakes away from the boy. The boy’s face swelled and as she watched him a surge of sadness and regret softened her rage and made her loosen her grip around his neck. Killing him achieved nothing anyway.
“Don’t move.” Hands tight around his wrists, she let him stand. “If you want to get out of here alive with your brother, tell him to give up the mushrooms.”
The boy grimaced and spat at her. She slapped him. Daggers clanged and sparked. The man, despite his otherwise remarkable sword skills, lost his focus, and his gaze wavered. Kiri’s turban appeared to be undulating. He retreated, barely parrying her relentless charges, his eyes glued to the unravelling headscarf. Auburn snakes crept through the folds in the turban and he dropped his weapon, brows drawn up with shock.
The boy screamed. She covered his mouth while he kicked and twisted in fear.
Kiri slashed the bag from the man’s shoulder and dented the skin of his throat with the tip of her blade. Her hair-snakes emerged like blood vessels exposed.
The man murmured, “Lucerian.”
“Low-blood…” Her dagger further testing his skin’s elasticity, she broke into a sly grin. Kiri’s hair-snakes lunged forward and hissed, their forked tongues molesting his face.
Tithren winced. Her own scaled mane shimmied in a frenzy as if in excitement over the man’s predicament, and yet the purple of her irises intensified with inexplicable concern for him. The death of a human should be no more devastating than that of a wooliwog, which she enjoyed hunting. Unlike the wooliwogs, who just ran and fought like mad and died with no more than a groan and a snort, humans evinced such pain and fear in their expressions. If that was a survival mechanism, it worked. Her grip on the struggling boy turned protective.
Kiri breathed into the man’s ear, “Should have given me the bag when I asked you.”
A slash of her dagger sent a spray of blood onto the mulched ground, specks landing on her grimy face and brown robe. The man dropped to the floor, and his brother let out a scream muffled by Tithren. Kiri turned and threw the dagger towards the child, but Tithren caught it. Her hold on the boy loosened, and he dashed away.
Slowly, the man lifted the strap of his bag from his shoulders. Kiri pointed her dagger away to give him space for the manoeuvre, when with a sudden twist of his hand from inside his sleeve he produced his own dagger. He swatted with his blade and knocked Kiri’s dagger flying. A quick reflex enabled her to grab it by the hilt before it reached the ground. She charged back at him.
“Get the boy,” she said. Her eyes flared with rage.
Tithren ran after the lad. A leap and a pounce easily landed her on top of him, and he bit, clawed and punched in vain. With one hand, she locked his wrists with an iron grip. With her other hand, she held his neck down with a firm but gentle throttle. He spat at her. She squeezed, and for a moment, enjoyed the power she had over the boy, watching him as he choked and suffered under her wrath. In that moment, with her hands around his throat, she realized that she wanted to kill him. She would enjoy it. This twisted satisfaction fuelled her serpentine mane and they hissed and struck the child. Tithren pulled back, shocked by her own instinctual cruelty and thirst for blood, her neck straining to keep the hair-snakes away from the boy. The boy’s face swelled and as she watched him a surge of sadness and regret softened her rage and made her loosen her grip around his neck. Killing him achieved nothing anyway.
“Don’t move.” Hands tight around his wrists, she let him stand. “If you want to get out of here alive with your brother, tell him to give up the mushrooms.”
The boy grimaced and spat at her. She slapped him. Daggers clanged and sparked. The man, despite his otherwise remarkable sword skills, lost his focus, and his gaze wavered. Kiri’s turban appeared to be undulating. He retreated, barely parrying her relentless charges, his eyes glued to the unravelling headscarf. Auburn snakes crept through the folds in the turban and he dropped his weapon, brows drawn up with shock.
The boy screamed. She covered his mouth while he kicked and twisted in fear.
Kiri slashed the bag from the man’s shoulder and dented the skin of his throat with the tip of her blade. Her hair-snakes emerged like blood vessels exposed.
The man murmured, “Lucerian.”
“Low-blood…” Her dagger further testing his skin’s elasticity, she broke into a sly grin. Kiri’s hair-snakes lunged forward and hissed, their forked tongues molesting his face.
Tithren winced. Her own scaled mane shimmied in a frenzy as if in excitement over the man’s predicament, and yet the purple of her irises intensified with inexplicable concern for him. The death of a human should be no more devastating than that of a wooliwog, which she enjoyed hunting. Unlike the wooliwogs, who just ran and fought like mad and died with no more than a groan and a snort, humans evinced such pain and fear in their expressions. If that was a survival mechanism, it worked. Her grip on the struggling boy turned protective.
Kiri breathed into the man’s ear, “Should have given me the bag when I asked you.”
A slash of her dagger sent a spray of blood onto the mulched ground, specks landing on her grimy face and brown robe. The man dropped to the floor, and his brother let out a scream muffled by Tithren. Kiri turned and threw the dagger towards the child, but Tithren caught it. Her hold on the boy loosened, and he dashed away.
About the Author
Annie
K. Wong was born in Hong Kong and lives in Canada, in the west coast
city of Vancouver, BC. She has a BA in Business Administration
and Creative Writing from Houghton College as well as a Diploma in Film
Studies from the University of British Columbia. Although she explored
careers in advertising, television and office administration, the desire
to write overtook her at the turn of the new millennium. In 2003 she
earned a Post-Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing from Humber
College and has been crafting stories ever since.
Her current project is a fantasy series, the prequel of which is Children of Lightning.
Her current project is a fantasy series, the prequel of which is Children of Lightning.
Connect with her and receive freebies and updates about her book and other upcoming projects.
Author Links:
***GIVEAWAY***
Children of Lightning is the origin story of Writhen Hollow, the villain in an upcoming book series. In celebration of great villains in the sci-fi/fantasy genre, Annie K. Wong is offering for the tour giveaway gift, The Hyperion Cantos (ebook or print - winner's choice).
1x $50 Amazon.ca gift card.
1x $100 Amazon.ca gift card.
1x $50 Amazon.ca gift card.
1x $100 Amazon.ca gift card.
International.
Ends Nov 26th.
Blog Tour Organised by:
Question to the author: how did you come up with the title?
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the excerpt. Thanks for the chance to win.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous cover. Who is responsible for it and how much input do you have as the author?
ReplyDeletesherry @ fundinmental
Hi Sherry, I work with an artist named Michael Gauss for the book cover. You can read more about the design and creative process for the book cover in my Smashwords Interview Page. Here is the link:
Deletehttps://www.smashwords.com/interview/ANNIEKWONG
Annie K. Wong
Hi Mai T.,
ReplyDeleteThe main characters in the story are not human. They are "lucerians" created by lightning, hence "Children of Lightning".
Annie K. Wong
What a fascinating book! Great excerpt and cover. I have added it to my tbr list. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteLove the cover!
ReplyDelete