Hi Everyone,

I have finally completed the first draft of my young adult fantasy novel. As you all have been such great readers, and have given me valuable feedback on my non-fiction stories, I thought it would be a good idea to publish the chapters on my blog, much like a series, and get you feedback before sending it off to publishers. So here it is a little piece of my soul, my book Awake.

Awake
“The path to paradise begins in hell.” – Dante Alighier
PROLOGUE
Heat surged through the air searing my skin, like I was being roasted on a spit. I tried to pick up my drooping head, but the effort took too much energy. Energy I did not have, due to hanging in this state for who knows how long. It could have been hours, days or weeks, there was no way for me to tell. Time stood still in hell.

Chains coiled around my arms, and held me upright and rigid against the red rock wall. Something shrieked, breaking the monotony of the churning lava. A haunted note of anguish lingered in the air from the cry, but I was no longer moved by their distress. Chained and exhausted, I could yield only a little magic. I could not help them, or myself for that matter.

I smelt the hounds before I heard them. They smelled of fire, brimstone and death. A cruel reminder  that I was not immortal in this realm. The hounds were almost at my cell they moved quickly, through the red hot corridors, immune to the heat. Their barks ricocheted of the walls like thunder claps, eliciting more anguished cries from the cells they passed.

Blood still dripped from the angry rips they made on my thighs during their last visit, and I winced in pain, bracing myself for the next interrogation. The click of spurs followed the rank odour of the hounds, as their master strolled behind. A handsome boy, who said he loved me. I drew on my last bit of magic, knowing what was coming next. He stopped in front of the wrought iron gate, a wide smile on his full lips and I cringed.


‘Good morning my pretty. You are looking truly delectable today.’
- Nivi

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